“I love my mom and dad. I love my brother, and people are just going to have to get over that. That’s just the way it is.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by the New York Times.
Republicans Push Further Right on Immigration
New York Times: “Staring at startling exit polls after a beating by President Obama in 2012, Republicans vowed they were finally ready to do something about immigration reform or risk further alienating Hispanic voters. But two-and-a-half years later they have seem to have decided to lurch to the right on the issue.”
Republicans Say Obama Caused Rise of Islamic State
Washington Post: “After more than a decade bearing the political burden of Iraq, Republicans are making a dogged effort to shed it by arguing that the Islamic State’s gruesome ascent is a symptom of Obama’s foreign policy, rather than a byproduct of the 2003 invasion they once championed.”
“The rapid move to shift responsibility is at the core of the GOP’s plan to define 2016 as a foreign-policy election. Anxious about demographic trends and the leftward drift of the electorate on social issues, many Republicans hope to seize on global unrest and offer voters a steady hand.”
Fox News Will Limit GOP Debates to 10
“The sprawling field of Republican presidential hopefuls will be abruptly winnowed down to as few as 10 — at least for debating purposes — when the first presidential debate is held in early August, Fox News, the debate sponsor,” the New York Times reports.
“The network’s decision to invite only candidates who hit a certain polling threshold is the first organized attempt to curtail the size of the ballooning field. Presidential debates have proved crucial in recent nominating contests, with little-known candidates propelled to national prominence and experienced candidate thrust out of the race by poor performances.”
Politico: “The first Republican presidential debate would likely exclude two governors, a U.S. senator, and the only woman in the GOP’s presidential field, according to criteria released Wednesday.”
U.S. and Cuba Near Deal on Full Diplomatic Relations
“The United States and Cuba are closer than ever to reaching an agreement to fully restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies, officials in both countries say, as negotiators prepare to meet Thursday in Washington for another round of talks to iron out remaining details and discuss possible dates,” the New York Times reports.
“The move toward full diplomatic relations broken decades ago during the Cold War has been seen as a key step toward ending hostilities and normalizing ties with a historic opponent that once agreed to allow Soviet nuclear missiles on its soil and repelled an invasion by American-backed insurgents.”
Paul Ends Filibuster After 10 Hours
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “ceded the Senate floor just before midnight Wednesday after more than 10 hours,” The Hill reports.
New York Times: “The legislation that Mr. Paul hopes to delay, the U.S.A. Freedom Act, would actually overhaul the Patriot Act — curtailing the government’s bulk collection of phone records, for example. But Mr. Paul has cast himself as the lone Republican presidential candidate who would safeguard civil liberties, and he knows that a filibuster is an effective way to spotlight the issue.”
Politico: “People in Paul’s orbit believe that the decision to take to the floor to fight the NSA — via a long, filibuster-like speech — will galvanize the libertarian base that supported his father, Ron Paul, without turning off more mainstream Republicans.”
Gingrich Doesn’t Want to Limit Number of Debaters
With 11 weeks until the first Republican presidential debate, Newt Gingrich told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that “he’s not sure how you fit 16 people on stage — perhaps you have them draw lots and conduct two debates — but he does not want to see an artificial cap.”
Said Gingrich: “I don’t know how you do it early on but I’m very much concerned that we don’t have either the news media or the party institutions kill people before they even get a chance to see the voters. The American people should decide which candidates are real, not some formula designed by people to see the best known.”
Trending on Wonk Wire
Here are some must-read stories from Wonk Wire:
- Can Republicans Avoid Romney’s Tax Proposal Problem?
- Obamacare Subsidies Were Meant For All States
- Do Wealthy Countries Need Big Government
- Is Fox News Hurting the Republican Party?
- The Untested Electability of an Atheist
- Republicans Scramble for Obamacare Alternative
- A Decline in Americans’ Satisfaction With Direction of the Country
- A Huge Hit For Some States If SCOTUS Rules Against Obamacare
Chelsea Clinton Has a Book Deal
Chelsea Clinton has a book deal for It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!, the AP reports.
The book, which will come out in the fall, aims to “inform and inspire” young people to “change the world” and will cover a range of issues from poverty to gender equality.
Searches for N-Word on Google Maps Show White House
Google was working to fix Google Maps after Twitter users noted that certain searches for the N-word pointed to the White House, the Huffington Post reports.
Largest New Jersey Newspaper Slams Christie
Newark Star Ledger Editorial Board: “For months, we have wondered how Gov. Chris Christie thinks he can win the presidency when New Jersey is in such rotten shape after his six years in office. Now we may have our answer: The man has lost touch with reality.”
“He needs to pour himself a drink and ask himself the tough question: Why don’t people love me? It could be the rotten job market. Or the high property taxes. Or the crumbling transit system. Or the broken promise on pensions. Or the private jets. Or the Bridgegate indictments. And so on.”
“It’s no wonder that New Jersey is screaming a warning to the rest of the country. God forbid he gets a chance to make an even bigger mess on a larger stage.”
Grayson Tried to Have His Wife Arrested
A review of Rep. Alan Grayson’s (D-FL) “soap-opera divorce case shows he unsuccessfully tried to have her criminally charged for far less: ringing up grocery, gasoline and car-repair expenses on his credit card,” Politico reports.
“Grayson’s previously unreported effort to have Lolita Grayson arrested on credit-card fraud charges was revealed in one of her court filings that complained about the wealthy Democrat’s tactics to withhold money from her.”
Will Limiting Media Contact Backfire on Clinton?
Rick Klein: “The tactic is clear: When you’re up this big in the polls, with no one standing as a real rival, only bad things are likely to happen if you answer reporters’ questions. But the strategy is less clear: When the campaign is this long, and when you’re promising a different kind of candidacy that shows that the candidate is willing and able to work for it, more bad things than good are likely to happen if you’re shielding yourself from the press.”
“Voters are unlikely to care about a four-week stretch in April and May where Hillary Clinton did not answer questions. The consequence, though, was clear when she broke that seal: The ensuing scrum covered everything from her Iraq war vote to her Benghazi emails to her personal wealth. It’s not an unreasonable expectation to see our candidates engage on the news of the day, on matters of policy and politics large and small… But if limiting press access is a strategic, as opposed to a tactical, consideration, it’s worth constant reevaluation.”
Quote of the Day
“Is there something about the left — and I am going to put the media in this category — that is obsessed with sex?”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Texas Tribune, when asked about gay rights.
Clinton Confidant Subpoenaed by House Committee
An official familiar with a House committee’s investigation of the Benghazi, Libya attack tells the AP that the panel has subpoenaed longtime Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal.
Alaska Governor Vetoes Partial Budget
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) “vetoed much of the underfunded operating budget sent to him by the Alaska Legislature and warned state employees that 15,000 of them could be without a job on July 1 if the Legislature can’t come up a fully funded budget,” the Fairbanks News Miner reports.
“The Legislature sent Walker a $5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1, but only about $2 billion in funding. Instead of total shutdown partway through the year, Walker opted to maintain services he deemed necessary while vetoing or partially vetoing others.”
Walker Says He’s Been Battle Tested
Gov. Scott Walker (R) called himself “probably the most scrutinized politician in America” as he walked into a meeting with lawmakers in Washington, CNN reports.
“Walker touted his electoral track record, having won three elections in four years, including a recall election that he survived — making him the only governor in U.S. history to survive a recall effort.”
Said Walker: “They threw $100 million dollars at us over the last four years and all sorts of attacks and I think we’re in a pretty good condition.”
House Democrats Look for Successor to Pelosi
“During the months following the November 2014 midterm elections, several House Democrats convened a series of secret meetings to plot the future of their party’s leadership,” according to the New York Times Magazine.
“The party had just endured a nationwide thrashing in the midterms and, at every level below the presidency, had little reason to feel all that optimistic about 2016. Retaking the Senate would be at best a 50-50 proposition. Democrats controlled only 18 of the nation’s 50 statehouses and 11 of its state legislatures, and those numbers seemed unlike to improve anytime soon. The prospects going forward were particularly grim in the House, where the number of Democratic members — 188 — was the lowest it had been since the Hoover administration.”
