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Bridge Scandal Dogs Christie

December 16, 2013 at 11:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Newark Star Ledger:
“No one has publicly accused Christie of ordering two of his top
appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to close
lanes to the world’s busiest bridge to get back at a Democratic mayor
who wouldn’t endorse his re-election bid. But questions about the
incident have fueled a scandal that even Christie’s masterful team of
brand managers can’t make go away.”

First Read: “And if the Christie administration didn’t close the lanes for political reasons, it hasn’t given a really good reason why it closed them. In addition, if politics had nothing to do with these decisions, then why did he accept the resignations of his Port Authority appointees? If there is nothing to see here then these two officials shouldn’t have lost their jobs, right?”

[Read more…]

Not Too Early to Look at Iowa

December 16, 2013 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read looks at the weekend Iowa Poll that found Rep. Paul Ryan with the highest favorable ratings of possible GOP presidential candidates.

“Ryan’s one of the few Washington insiders with credibility with the GOP base on the outside. As we noted above, he used that capital to get this budget compromise done. It will be interesting to see if Ryan can keep that popularity with the GOP base in a place like Iowa after a few months of intra-party debate over this budget deal. And the Christie numbers are a reminder that, with Iowa’s very conservative GOP electorate, he’s going to struggle. Sometimes the conventional wisdom is accurate and this Iowa poll reflects the C.W. on Christie with the GOP base.”

“On the Dem side, while the Clinton numbers will surprise no one, the Biden numbers might. But realize: If there’s no Clinton, he’ll be more formidable as a de factor non-Hillary frontrunner than perhaps the chattering class realizes. Sure, he’s no shoo-in for Dems if Clinton is no-go, and there will be a lot of Dems whose tires will get kicked by voters. But Biden will have a stronger hold on key Democratic constituencies in a primary than he gets credit for now.”

Cuomo Has 8 Christmas Trees

December 16, 2013 at 10:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has eight Christmas trees in his house, according to a Vanity Fair interview with his girlfriend, Sandra Lee.

Said Lee: “It’s amazing. It is so beautiful. But I’ve been working on it for three weeks.”

She added: “Even Andrew says, ‘Oh my God.'”

Bonus Quote of the Day

December 16, 2013 at 10:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m very, very annoyed and disappointed that my plan wasn’t God’s plan. I really want to know what the reason is.”

— Christine Quinn (D), quoted by the New York Daily News, on her failed mayoral bid.

Landrieu Copies Nunn’s Website

December 16, 2013 at 9:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) campaign website “issues” page appears to have been copied directly from Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn’s (D) website “ideas” page BuzzFeed reports.

The same company, Trilogy, designed both websites.

State of the Union Address Scheduled

December 16, 2013 at 9:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Obama has accepted Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 28, Roll Call reports.

Crapo’s Injuries Draw Attention

December 16, 2013 at 9:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) “drew some second looks in Washington, D.C., last week, but not necessarily because of his comments in the Senate. Instead, it was the rather dramatic facial injury he’s sporting, including a V-shaped bruise on his cheek that extends across a good portion of the side of his face,” the Spokane Spokesman Review reports.

Said one C-SPAN commenter: “Looks like someone knocked the Crapo out of him.”

Clinton May Impact Midterm Elections

December 16, 2013 at 7:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Hillary Clinton “looms large as a potential 2016 presidential candidate, but she could be a major factor in the 2014 elections too,” USA Today reports.

“Ready for Hillary, the group organizing supporters nationwide for a potential Clinton presidential campaign, says it will ask its members to support candidates endorsed by Clinton in the 2014 midterm elections, and to push her policy agenda over the next two years.”

[Read more…]

Quote of the Day

December 16, 2013 at 7:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Marxist ideology is wrong. But in my life I have known many Marxists who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”

— Pope Francis, in an interview with La Stampa, responding to conservatives who say he’s a Marxist.

GOP Firebrands Tone Down Their Message

December 16, 2013 at 7:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The New York Times reports at least nine Tea Party Republicans, “a mix of former incumbents and previous challengers” are running for Congress again — “but with a difference.”

“This time they have shelved their incendiary remarks about President Obama and the national debt in favor of a narrower focus on the Affordable Care Act, which they hope will attract moderate voters from both parties, even in heavily Democratic districts, who are disenchanted with its rollout. The campaigns, if successful, could be an indication of change in some corners of the Republican Party as many former firebrands mellow their messages [and] try to capitalize on the center. At the very least, their campaigns show that some people who ran vociferously against Washington appear eager to get back there.”

Gingrich Says Budget Deal is Good Politics

December 16, 2013 at 7:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Newt Gingrich told ABC News that the bipartisan budget agreement is “brilliant politics” that will allow Republicans to keep the heat on Obamacare and avoid the terrible optics of more government shutdowns.

Said Gingrich: “I think this is mediocre policy and brilliant politics. It doesn’t get them what they want on policy terms, but it strips away the danger that people will notice anything but Obamacare. And the longer the country watches Obamacare, the more likely the Democrats are to lose the Senate.”

GOP Leans on Big Donors to Beat Back Tea Party

December 16, 2013 at 6:53 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “recently delivered a direct pitch to one of America’s top defense contractors: Get off the sidelines and start backing Republicans who will protect military spending,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

McConnell’s message “was that if Republican lawmakers lose primary elections from challengers further to their right who have few qualms about trimming military budgets, the defense industry could expect dwindling support in Washington.”

“The effort to beat back challenges from the right goes beyond the defense industry. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have been stepping in to help business-friendly Republicans aligned with the GOP leadership, a reaction to the government shutdown in October, which the business groups opposed, and a sign of worries that tea party-aligned candidates might try to eliminate tax breaks and spending favored by businesses.”

GOP Votes Needed to Pass Budget in Senate

December 16, 2013 at 6:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Republicans, “who spent most of the last week bemoaning a recent rules change that makes it easier for Democrats to confirm Obama administration appointees, will have to turn their attention this week to the two-year budget deal crafted by the heads of the House and Senate Budget Committees, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA),” CBS News reports.

“But in a deviation from the usual patterns in Washington, the bipartisan agreement may have a harder path in the Senate, where lawmakers are typically less averse to compromise than their House counterparts.”

However, The Hill reports that
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second-ranking Senate Democratic leader, said that “Republicans jockeying for the White House in 2016 and Tea Party challengers in 2014 have imperiled the budget deal.”

“Durbin estimated that Democrats will lose three members of their caucus on the vote, which means they’ll need at least eight Republicans to cross the aisle and vote with them.”

First Read: “While there might be a Democratic defection or two, 60 votes appears to
be much more obtainable today than it was late last week. There won’t be
much drama.”:

Ryan Signals Another Debt Ceiling Fight

December 15, 2013 at 9:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that Republicans “would not raise the debt ceiling next year without some sort of concessions from Democrats, saying lawmakers were still crafting their strategy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Ryan: “We, as a caucus, along with our Senate counterparts, are going to meet and discuss what it is we want to get out of the debt limit. We don’t want ‘nothing’ out of the debt limit. We’re going to decide what it is we can accomplish out of this debt limit fight.”

“The White House has said it will no longer negotiate with Republicans on conditions for raising the debt limit, but many Republicans have said they will only vote to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for budget changes like spending cuts.”

Machiavelli With Malaprops

December 15, 2013 at 9:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jon Ralston has a must-read profile of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), calling him the “most unconventional of politicians, one who cares little about public perception and delights in infuriating the opposition.”

“The former boxer’s ability to absorb blows and, even more importantly, to counterpunch, perhaps with an occasional hit below the belt, are the secrets of his longevity–and no doubt he will deploy them once again as the Senate fights this week over the budget deal. Unlike most of the preening Club of 100, Reid expends little effort tending to his public image. Driving home messages (the Tea Party is destructive) and advancing legislation (the nuclear option) are what energize this tireless son of Searchlight, Nev., a speck of a town outside Las Vegas where Reid’s hardscrabble childhood helped produce a man impervious to most political considerations and virtually immune to criticism.”

“The majority leader is a mélange of contradictions–a Machiavelli with malaprops (otherwise known as Reidisms)–but you can’t understand them just from the vantage point of the theater up on Capitol Hill.”

Cornyn Way Ahead of Stockman

December 15, 2013 at 8:15 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Wilson Perkins Allen poll in Texas finds Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) crushing GOP primary challenger Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), 50% to 6%.

A Year of Doing Very Little

December 15, 2013 at 8:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

According to data analyzed by the New York Times, the House of Representatives, “which ended its business for the year last week, left town with the distinction of having been at work for the fewest hours in a nonelection year since 2005, when detailed information about legislative activity became available.”

“Not counting brief, pro forma sessions, the House was in session for 942 hours, an average of about 21 hours each week it conducted business in Washington. That is far lower than the nearly 1,700 hours it was in session in 2007, the 1,350 hours in 2005 or even the 1,200 in 2011.”

“By a similar measure, the Senate was near its recorded lows for days on the floor. Senators have spent 99 days casting votes this year, close to the recent low point for a nonelection year in 1991, when there were 95 voting days.”

Americans Fear Obamacare Erodes Their Health Coverage

December 15, 2013 at 1:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds “a striking level of unease” about the health care law “among people who have health insurance and aren’t looking for any more government help.”

“In the survey, nearly half of those with job-based or other private coverage say their policies will be changing next year — mostly for the worse. Nearly 4 in 5 (77%) blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act, even though the trend toward leaner coverage predates the law’s passage. Sixty-nine percent say their premiums will be going up, while 59 percent say annual deductibles or copayments are increasing.”