A new Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll in Georgia finds Gov. Nathan Deal (R) with a small lead over challenger Jason Carter (D), 43% to 39%, with 18% undecided.
Red Sox Bring Bipartisanship to Washington
The Boston Red Sox, “once lovable losers who have won three World Series since 2004, are now the team that seemingly every politician, operative, and staffer wants to be associated with,” the Boston Globe reports.
“Testy press aides suddenly became giddy fans. Warring members of Congress stood in line together to get photos with ballplayers. And on the White House lawn, the group collectively rose as the players emerged, singing along to ‘Sweet Caroline’ played by the Marine Corps Band. Indeed, the stressed-out, suited legions who labor in the political and policy trenches seemed to relish a moment that was noncontroversial. In true Washington fashion, the event was heavily scripted. But the joy seemed genuine, nonetheless.”
Follow the season on Sox Wire.
Lawmaker Seeks to Give God Credit for Fossil
“An 8-year-old South Carolina girl’s dream of having the woolly mammoth become the official state fossil has been put on hold while lawmakers debate an amendment that gives God credit for creation of the prehistoric animal,” Reuters reports.
“A bill that recently passed the state House to designate the Columbian Mammoth as the state fossil stalled in the Senate after Republican Senator Kevin Bryant added two verses from the book of Genesis. That amendment was ruled out of order but senators this week will debate a new amendment that says the mammoth was ‘created on the sixth day along with the beasts of the field.'”
Americans Divided on Control of Congress
A new Quinnipiac poll finds Democrats with a slight edge in the generic congressional ballot, 40% to 38%. Independent voters would vote Republican 35% to 27%.
Meanwhile, Americans are split on whether Democrats or Republicans should control the Senate, 45% to 45%.
Bowser Upsets Gray in Primary
Muriel Bowser (D), “a low-key but politically canny District lawmaker, won the Democratic mayoral nomination Tuesday, emerging from a pack of challengers in a low-turnout primary to deny scandal-tarnished incumbent Vincent Gray a second term,” the Washington Post reports.
“The 41-year-old D.C. Council member triumphed in the latest in a string of District elections to reveal a city unsettled over the shape of its future. Bowser’s win heralds many more months of uncertainty as she faces a substantial general-election challenger while a lame-duck Gray is left to steer the city amid the threat of federal indictment.”
Cruz Gets a Book Deal
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be paid $1.5 million to write “a personal memoir about his controversial days in Washington and his vision for the future for HarperCollins,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“The advance would be the biggest for a conservative politician in years, even more than the $1.25 million that former 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin received after her sensational rise in Republican politics.”
Nunn Faces First Attack Ad
Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn (D) is facing her first attack ad, “a sign Republicans are increasingly nervous she has a real chance to win her race,” The Hill reports.
“The Ending Spending Action Fund, a GOP-affiliated super-PAC, is launching an ad attacking her for her support of ObamaCare and accusing her of supporting higher taxes, calling her ‘the last thing Georgia taxpayers need.'”
Jindal Unveils Health Care Alternative
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will announce “a plan to repeal and replace President Obama’s health-care law, an effort by the Republican to insert himself into the increasingly competitive early maneuvering for his party’s presidential nomination,” the Washington Post reports.
“Jindal, a former state and federal health official, said his plan is one of many policy proposals he will release in coming months, making clear that he wants to be seen as a policy-driven problem solver.”
Same-State 2016 Contenders Could Challenge Donors
“The potential for a Cruz-Perry showdown in 2016 already is causing some anxiety among Texas’ Republican Party leaders, fundraisers and donors, many of whom like both men and are concerned about being pressured to support just one,” Reuters reports.
“Similar scenarios are unfolding to lesser degrees in Wisconsin and Florida, states that also have two potential contenders for the party’s presidential nomination — Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, and former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida.”
“The unusual number of states with multiple potential candidates poses a particular challenge for party operatives looking for hints about who might emerge by early 2014 as leading contenders for the White House.”
Conversation with Sam Youngman
Sam Youngman of the Lexington Herald Leader joins us on the Political Wire podcast for a deep dive into Kentucky politics — Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) re-election race, Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) flirtation with a White House bid and a little college basketball thrown in for good measure.
Listen here:
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Special thanks to our sponsor this week: AMC’s original series TURN, the untold story of America’s first spy ring. Premieres Sunday, April 6 at 9pm ET on AMC.
Big Papi Takes Selfie with Obama
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz got President Obama to take a selfie with him during a visit celebrating the team’s World Series victory.
Was It Because of Obamacare?
Ryan Teague Beckwith: “By this time next year, nearly half the senators who voted for Obamacare could be gone. Due to a combination of lost re-election campaigns, retirements and deaths, 21 of the 60 Democrats who voted for the 2010 health care law are no longer in the Senate. If the fall elections go as poorly for Democrats as expected, another eight could be gone next year.”
Ryan Introduces Budget He Says Will Eliminate Deficit
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced “a tough, election-year budget that purports to come into balance by 2024, in large part through steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and the full repeal of President Obama’s health care law, just as millions begin to see its benefits,” the New York Times reports.
“But even with those cuts, Mr. Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, is counting on a boost of economic growth to balance the budget, a boost he says will be gained by reducing the deficit. Many economists believe such dramatic spending cuts — especially those affecting the poor — would have the opposite effect, slowing the economy and lowering tax receipts.”
Wall Street Journal: “Building in assumptions about economic growth is a controversial part of budget math, and Mr. Ryan didn’t include the same assumptions in prior proposals. This sort of analysis is popular with Republicans, who often cite it in proposals to cut taxes.”
GOP Candidate Leads Bizarre Double Life
Florida congressional hopeful Jacob Rush (R) portrays himself as the ultimate “conservative straight shooter” in a video on his campaign website, St. Peters Blog reports.
The video “certainly hits all the right marks by featuring a series of heartwarming and inspiring images: Rush placing his hand on a Bible, as a father of a newborn, even initiating a group of enthusiastic schoolchildren on the values of the U.S. Constitution.”
“What the slick video does not mention is that Rush – as ‘Chazz Darling,’ ‘Staas van der Winst’ and a host of other roles – was a long-time member of the Mind’s Eye Society… Mind’s Eye, or MES, is a nationwide community of gothic-punk role-players who come together to take on personas of vampires and other supernatural beings (known as Kindred), dealing with night-to-night struggles ‘against their own bestial natures, hunters, and each other.'”
Control of Senate Could Flip Many Times
Charlie Cook: “By a quirk of fate, we may be in for some pretty turbulent Senate elections, not only this November but in 2016 and 2018 as well. Majority status could resemble a rubber band as much as anything else. It is entirely plausible that the Senate will tip back into GOP hands in 2014, return to Democrats in 2016, and then flip again to Republicans in 2018. It’s all about how many–and which–seats on each side are up and exposed to losses, not to mention whether it is a presidential or midterm election.”
How Jeb Bush Could Divide the GOP
John Dickerson: “The argument for a Bush run is that he has a governor’s executive skills, can forge a relationship with crucial Hispanic voters (particularly in a key swing state), and has a fundraising base founded, in part, on a reservoir of goodwill toward the Bush family. Republicans are sick of being out of the White House and want a winner. Perhaps, but Bush is also the perfect candidate if your goal is driving simultaneous wedges into as many fault lines in the Republican Party as possible.”
Obamacare Beating Expectations
Wonk Wire: Obamacare’s 7 million enrollment target in sight.
Salon: “Here’s a riddle for anyone who thinks the politics of Obamacare are straightforward, and toxic for Democrats. How is it possible, in defiance of public rebuke, widespread misinformation and other headwinds, that insurance enrollment is surging in just about every state in the country?”
Jonathan Cohn: “Whatever the final tally, you can count on law’s critics to keep saying the number is less impressive than it seems.”
GOP 2016 Hopefuls Take Their Lanes
Gerald Seib: “Presidential campaigns are long and complicated, and getting more so, but they all start in the same way: Hopefuls jockey for position in a handful of lanes that open up for specific types of candidates their party seems willing to consider.”
“That is precisely what is happening now as Republicans begin serious contemplation of the 2016 presidential race. The party is changing and soul-searching after two straight presidential defeats, and its coming nominating contest may well be the most crowded and wide-open in a generation.”