Wonk Wire explains with just one graph.
House Approves Ryan Budget
The House narrowly approved Rep. Paul Ryan’s spending blueprint, 219-205, Roll Call reports.
“It’s an important symbolic victory for the Wisconsin Republican and potential GOP presidential contender. No Democrats voted for the 10-year-spending plan and the bill won’t go anywhere in the Senate, but the document has come to represent a marker for where the Republican Party, its leaders and rank-and-file House members stand on fiscal policy.”
Raimondo Holds Edge in Rhode Island
A new Brown University poll in Rhode Island finds Gina Raimondo (D) leading the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination with 29%, followed by Angel Taveras (D) at 26%, Clay Pell (D) at 10% and 35% still undecided.
Giuliani Implies He Helped Wire Sharpton
Rudy Giuliani, who served as U.S. attorney before stepping down in 1989 down to run for New York City mayor, repeatedly refused to answer questions about the report detailing Al Sharpton’s involvement in federal investigations of the mob during the 1980s, the New York Observer reports.
Said Giuliani: “I’m constrained here by the fact that I was a United States attorney at the time.”
“Pressed, Mr. Giuliani suggested, however, that he was very much been the type of U.S. attorney who would have been involved with Mr. Sharpton’s case.”
Alexander Mulls Return to Congress
Former Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA), who resigned abruptly last summer to take a job in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s cabinet, said he won’t rule out a run for his old job next fall, the Monroe News-Star reports.
“Alexander, who won six terms in the U.S. House beginning with the 2002 election, said he has been saddened by the scandal that has rocked his successor, Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA) and the 5th District.”
Said Alexander: “I would never say anything is off of the table. If I felt like the people of Louisiana and the 5th District wanted me for a particular purpose or office, I am willing to serve them.”
Obamacare Enrollment Surges Ahead
Wonk Wire: Obamacare enrollment now tops 7.5 million
Rolling Stone Flubs Cover
The cover image of next month’s Rolling Stone magazine featuring the “Veep” star depicts a nude Julia Louis-Dreyfus with a tattoo of the U.S. Constitution signed by John Hancock across her back, the AP reports.
The problem is Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.
Pryor Has a Double-Digit Lead
A new Opinion Research Associates poll in Arkansas finds Sen. Mark Pryor (D) with a ten point lead over challenger Tom Cotton (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 38%.
Walker Holds Commanding Lead in Wisconsin
A new St. Norbert College/Wisconsin Public Radio poll in Wisconsin shows Gov. Scott Walker (R) leading challenger Mary Burke (D) in the race for governor by 16 points, 56% to 40%.
Carter Criticizes Hillary Clinton
In an interview with Time, Jimmy Carter took a shot at Hillary Clinton and her tenure as the nation’s top diplomat.
Said Carter: “I know from experience that the best way to have the United States be a mediator is for the President himself to be deeply involved. In this occasion, when Secretary Clinton was Secretary of State, she took very little action to bring about peace.”
Murdoch Surveys the 2016 Field
Rupert Murdoch spoke to Fortune about the Republican candidates for the 2016 presidential election saying, “I think it’s between four or five people.”
He added: “It’s not necessarily, although slightly, in order of preference: Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, whom I have particular admiration for. I do for both. Chris Christie could recover. Scott Walker, whom I don’t know, and Rand Paul, whom I agree with on a great number of things but disagree strongly on some things–too strongly perhaps to vote for him…. Paul Ryan is the straightest arrow I’ve ever met. He’s hardworking. He knows where every dollar goes in Washington. He’s emerging as the natural leader… Jeb Bush I think he’s a man of very fine character. He was a great governor. And I particularly like his policy on education, which I’m hardest on. My number one.”
As for the Democratic side: “I could live with Hillary as President. We have to live with who we get. We don’t have any choice.”
Ryan Budget Up for a Vote Today
Wall Street Journal:
“A number of rank-and-file House Republicans, steaming mad at GOP leaders because of a recent Medicare vote, are signaling that they will probably give Mr. Ryan the benefit of the doubt and vote to approve his budget resolution on Thursday. He can only afford to lose roughly a dozen GOP defections, or the budget resolution likely won’t pass.”
Why Are Politicians’ Books So Terrible?
“It used to be that political biographies were written by biographers, and politicians waited until they left office to write their memoirs. Now, it seems like you can’t run for office without first penning a bestseller,” Politico reports.
“Candidates kick-start their campaigns with these books hoping to offer voters honey that will outlast whatever vinegar gets subsequently turned up by the press. But that sweetness is what makes these books so sickening. The authors of these doorstoppers play a game of autobiographical boggle where the only dice are faith, family, grit and patriotism.”
House Conservatives Plot to Oust Boehner
National Journal: “Several dozen frustrated House conservatives are scheming to infiltrate the GOP leadership next year–possibly by forcing Speaker John Boehner to step aside immediately after November’s midterm elections.”
“The conservatives’ exasperation with leadership is well known. And now, in discreet dinners at the Capitol Hill Club and in winding, hypothetical-laced email chains, they’re trying to figure out what to do about it. Some say it’s enough to coalesce behind–and start whipping votes for–a single conservative leadership candidate. Others want to cut a deal with Majority Leader Eric Cantor: We’ll back you for speaker if you promise to bring aboard a conservative lieutenant.”
“But there’s a more audacious option on the table, according to conservatives involved in the deliberations. They say between 40 and 50 members have already committed verbally to electing a new speaker. If those numbers hold, organizers say, they could force Boehner to step aside as speaker in late November, when the incoming GOP conference meets for the first time, by showing him that he won’t have the votes to be reelected in January.”
Quote of the Day
“I fully expect humiliation. I fully expect embarrassment. But here I am.”
— Spiritual author Marianne Williamson, quoted by Businessweek, on her congressional bid in California.
Christie Has a Head Start in New Hampshire
Though his political future is in question amid the ongoing Bridgegate investigations, Scott Conroy notes Gov. Chris Christie (R) “will enjoy one key early advantage over his competitors here should he seek the Oval Office in 2016.”
“Two of the aides who helped direct the New Jersey governor’s re-election triumph last year have since moved on to high-profile positions in New Hampshire politics, and their presence could be a significant boon to a Christie campaign.”
Members Caught Pursuing Staffers Never Survive
Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA) “is showing every sign he’s hunkering down in hopes of saving his nascent political life. But recent House history signals that it’s going to be a futile pursuit,” Roll Call reports.
“His troubles are unique in one respect — no member in modern history has seen his congressional career beset by scandal so quickly. It was just 137 days from when McAllister was sworn in to represent northeastern Louisiana, the Republican winner of a special election, to the release of grainy security camera footage of him in an 18-second lip lock with someone who is not his wife.”
“In the past eight years, four other men of the House have been exposed for having, or seeming to seek, sexual relationships with congressional aides. None of them stayed in office longer than a couple of weeks.”
King Hints He May Switch Sides
Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with the Democrats, told The Hill that he will decide after the midterm elections whether to switch sides and join the Republicans.
Said King: “I’ll make my decision at the time based on what I think is best for Maine.”
“King’s remarks are a clear indication that congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle will have to woo the 70-year-old senator in order to recruit him to their side. That lobbying battle could be especially intense if King’s decision determines which party will control the chamber in the next Congress.”
