Former New Orleans
Mayor Ray Nagin (D), “the brash spokesman for the city inundated by Hurricane
Katrina, is expected to plead not guilty in federal court on Wednesday
to charges that he accepted kickbacks in exchange for city contracts,” Reuters reports.
Senator Admits He Had a Secret Child
Former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) told the Albuquerque Journal that he has a son born in secrecy 30 years ago.
Said Domenici: “More than 30 years ago, I fathered a child outside my marriage. I deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior. I hope New Mexicans will view that my accomplishments for my beloved state outweigh my personal transgression.”
Washington Post: “Domenici said that he kept the matter secret because the mother of the child, Michelle Laxalt, asked him to do so. Her father, Paul Laxalt, was himself a U.S. senator from Nevada from 1974 to 1987.”
Roll Call: “Eight evidently wasn’t enough for Domenici”
Fact of the Day
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL), who will plead guilty today to taking more than $750,000 in campaign funds, once co-authored a book with his father titled, It’s About the Money!
Schweitzer Touts Poll Showing Him Crushing Baucus
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) with a 19 pt lead over Sen. Max Baucus (D) in a possible 2014 Democratic U.S. primary.
Even more interesting, however, is that Schweitzer posted the poll on his Facebook page.
GOP Blinded By Anger
Stu Rothenberg: “Ultimately, the Republican Party’s
problems go back to its base voters, who participate in primaries and
nominating conventions. Many of them are so blinded by their anger
toward President Barack Obama, the national news media and their own
party leaders that they are willing to nominate the most conservative
candidate in a primary, no matter how limited his or her appeal in a
general election. And for party strategists, there is no easy solution
to that problem.”
A Washington Fight
Rick Klein: “It’s either the worst kind of Washington fight, or the best kind. The stand-off over sequestration’s automatic spending cuts is peculiar in part because there’s no real attempt to do anything about it. All the focus is falling on who should take the blame after it happens. So it’s the worst kind of fight because something big is about to happen, with real consequences for government and military services, that almost nobody in Washington wants to see take place. But it’s the best kind of fight because at least this time there’s no brinksmanship and almost certainly fruitless late-night, high-stakes meeting.”
Just a Different Form of Lobbying
New Republic: “Once upon a time, the only way for a pol to cash in like that was to leave elected office in order to become a lobbyist–a nice living, but one that carries with it a stigma that would likely kill any future ambitions for high office. By contrast, a gig at Heritage, the main voice of the conservative movement, could be a good launching pad for a potential 2016 presidential bid. Candidate DeMint could run as a man of ideas, not another pol out shilling for his donors.”
“The problem with that wholesome image… is that think-tanking and lobbying have come to look more and more alike. Just like lobbyists, think tanks can frame policy debates and generate political pressure–for the right price.”
NRA Targets Democratic Senators
The National Rifle Association will launch a print advertising campaign targeting mostly Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014, Roll Call reports.
“On Thursday, full-page ads are scheduled to run in local newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and West Virginia. They will be supplemented by digital advertising in these states and 10 others, including Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire and South Dakota. Additionally, the group has scheduled full-page ads to run Feb. 25 in regional editions of USA Today, reaching parts of 15 states. The campaign is estimated to cost north of $375,000, sources said.”
Gingrich Says Rove is Wrong
Newt Gingrich takes apart Karl Rove’s plan to ensure “more electable” Republicans win primaries in 2014.
“While Rove would like to argue his ‘national nomination machine’ will protect Republicans from candidates like those who failed in Missouri and Indiana, that isn’t the bigger story. Republicans lost winnable senate races in Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. So in seven of the nine losing races, the Rove model has no candidate-based explanation for failure. Our problems are deeper and more complex than candidates.”
“Handing millions to Washington based consultants to destroy the candidates they dislike and nominate the candidates they do like is an invitation to cronyism, favoritism and corruption.”
Quote of the Day
“If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun.”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by Roll Call, defending his proposed ban on assault weapons.
Most Conservative and Most Liberal of the Senate
National Journal finds Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) is the Senate’s “most conservative” member.
“Risch, a former governor, entered the Senate in 2009 at the age of
65. While not a figure with much national press since then, Risch has
been a true stalwart when it comes to his conservative voting record,
most recently being one of just eight Republican senators to vote
against the Violence Against Women Act.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) both tied for “most liberal.”
The Birth of a Rumor
A reporter explains in New York Daily News how he inadvertently created the myth that Chuck Hagel spoke to a non-existent group called “Friends of Hamas.”
“I am, it seems, the creator of the Friends of Hamas myth. Doing my job, I erred in counting on confidentiality and the understanding that my example was farcical — and by assuming no one would print an unchecked rumor. If anyone didn’t know already: Partisan agendas, Internet reporting and old-fashioned carelessness can move complete crocks fast. If you see a story on Hagel addressing the Junior League of Hezbollah, that’s fake too.”
The GOP Sequester
Speaker John Boehner writes in the Wall Street Journal that the deep automatic spending cuts set for the end of the month were President Obama’s idea.
But a July 2011 PowerPoint obtained by John Avlon shows the opposite may be true.
“It’s a PowerPoint presentation that Boehner’s office developed with the Republican Policy Committee and sent out to the Capitol Hill GOP on July 31, 2011… It’s essentially an internal sales document from the old dealmaker Boehner to his unruly and often unreasonable Tea Party cohort. But it’s clear as day in the presentation that ‘sequestration’ was considered a cudgel to guarantee a reduction in federal spending–the conservatives’ necessary condition for not having America default on its obligations.”
Jackson and Wife to Plead Guilty
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D), and his wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, “are expected to plead guilty to federal charges today, when more details may emerge about an alleged crime spree in which he is accused of spending more than $750,000 in campaign cash to buy luxury items, memorabilia and other goods,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Attorneys familiar with public corruption investigations said the amount of campaign cash allegedly converted to personal use in this case is the largest of any that they can remember.”
Race for Virginia Governor a Dead Heat
A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) and Ken Cuccinelli (R) tied in a head-to-head matchup for governor, 38% to 38%, with 21% still undecided.
With Bill Bolling as an independent candidate, the race remains a statistical tie, with McAuliffe at 34%, Cuccinelli at 31% and Bolling at 13%.
Christie Soars in New Jersey
A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) with a record breaking approval rating of 74% and a stunning 37 point lead over likely Democratic opponent, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D), 62% to 25%.
Said pollster Maurice Carroll: “Most governors
would kill for a 56 percent job approval rating. Republican Gov. Christie gets that from
Democrats!”
Obama Searches for a Kentucky Candidate
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put out an amusing video on the Democratic search for a candidate to run against him.
Markey Leads in Massachusetts Primary
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts shows Rep. Ed Markey (D) well ahead of Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) in the special Democratic Senate primary, 43% to 28%
