Former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) told WMAL that he wouldn’t rule out a future primary challenge to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Said West: “That’s a pretty heavy lift, because you’re talking about running against a sitting senator, and then, of course, that creates that schism that the other side would love to see happen… We’ll see what happens down the pike, God will set my feet down the right path.”
Politico: “As much of the GOP strains to implement a post-2012 course correction, the party has found itself stymied over and over by what leaders describe as a tiny rump of ham-fisted pols with a knack for stumbling onto cable news. No matter what the party leadership is up to in a given month, there’s almost invariably a back-bencher in the House of Representatives or a C-list player out in the states who’s only too eager to take the wind out of a conservative comeback with some incendiary comment that seizes national attention.”
Outgoing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) told KPCC-FM that he’s planning to run for California governor.
Said Villaraigosa: “You mentioned governor. Look, I believe in public service. I want to run for governor. In fact, I fully expect that I will. I’m going to tell you something, I will never have a job like this. This city has given me more than I could have ever hoped for.”
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John Sides: “First, it matters for the 2014 election. A simple model of House election outcomes constructed by political scientist Gary Jacobson shows that the share of seats controlled by the president’s party depends in part on presidential approval…. Obviously, other factors matter too. But a less popular president certainly provides headwinds for Democratic candidates.”
“Second, it matters for the 2016 election. Of course, that’s a long way away, and a lot can happen between now and then. But again, simple forecasting models show that, controlling for other factors, the incumbent party does better when the incumbent president is popular.”
“Third, it matters for whether the President gets what he wants from Congress–with some caveats.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) beginning his reelection campaign as a slight underdog against Tom Foley (R), the man he beat three years ago.
Foley edges Malloy by three points, 43% to 40%.
A new Rasmussen survey in New Jersey finds Cory Booker (D) running way ahead of Steve Lonegan (R) in a potential special U.S. Senate election match up, 50% to 33%.
President Obama’s “near-complete absence from more than 25 percent of the states, from which he is politically estranged, is no surprise, in that it reflects routine cost-benefit calculations of the modern presidency. But in a country splintered by partisanship and race, it may also have consequences,” the New York Times reports.
“America’s 21st-century politics, as underscored by the immigration debate now embroiling Congress, increasingly pits the preferences of a dwindling, Republican-leaning white majority against those of expanding, Democratic-leaning Hispanic and black minorities. Even some sympathetic observers fault Mr. Obama for not doing all he could to pull disparate elements of society closer.”
Afghan President Karzai “suspended security talks with the U.S. to
protest the American outreach to the Taliban — jeopardizing plans to
maintain a U.S. military presence beyond next year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R) formally announced that he will challenge Sen. Mark Begich (D) next year, Roll Call reports.
“His candidacy, which has been expected for some time, gives Republicans a top-tier opponent in one of the party’s best pickup opportunities in the country.”
Dozens of new listings just added over at Political Job Hunt.
President Obama “is set to make the case for a new phase in nuclear-weapons reductions,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Despite mounting tensions with Cold War adversary Russia over the Syrian civil war and missile-defense, Mr. Obama is expected in the speech to say that the U.S. and Russia can reduce their arsenals of deployed nuclear weapons by up to another one-third, beyond the cuts mandated under the 2010 New START, or Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, without undercutting deterrence or capabilities.”
A new CBO report says the Senate immigration bill would reduce federal budget deficits by $175 billion over the next 10 years and by $700 billion over the following decade, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The report could add momentum to the bipartisan bill now before the Senate, by making it harder for opponents to argue that it is unaffordable and that the government will pay too much to provide services for immigrants.”
Former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers told Real Clear Politics that President Obama should be tried for war crimes.
Said Ayers: “Every president in this century should be put on trial. Every one of them goes into an office dripping with blood and then adds to it. And, yes, I think that these are war crimes. I think that they’re acts of terror.”
Charlie Rose has a great interview with President Obama at the White House in which they covered Syria, Iran, the NSA leaks controversy and more.
The Week has five takeaways from the sit down.
“No more self-analysis; we’ve had our catharsis. The season for navel gazing has passed.”
— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), writing in Politico, arguing that the “level of panic and apology from the operative class in our party is absurd and unmerited.”
Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) was announced as a special representative for the United States to the Great Lakes region of Africa by Secretary of State John Kerry, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
“Feingold brings an expertise in the region to the job. He served as chairman of the Senate foreign relations Africa subcommittee.”
Der Spiegel: “It is Obama’s ninth European trip as president, but only his first state visit to Berlin. It took him four-and-a-half years to pay his official visit to Germany, the undisputed dominant power in Europe. The trip carries a great deal of importance for the Germans.”
“Obama’s visit this month and the memory of the Kennedy visit 50 years ago highlight the special relationship between Germans and Americans, but they also show how much the world has changed since then. Kennedy’s trip to Berlin was an almost ecstatic celebration of the protection and defense alliance, while the visit by the no less charismatic current president will probably end up being a more or less unexciting family affair.”
First Read reviews Obama’s international trip so far: “It could have been worse.”
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the string of corruption arrests in New York State is far from over, noting that “more public corruption cases can be expected to emerge due to the “pervasive” nature of the problem in the state,” Politicker reports.
Said Bharara: “We investigate cases very aggressively, and we are going to continue to do that, whether the legislature is in session or not. You can expect more cases to come, because there is a lot more corruption that has not yet been brought to light.”
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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