Jim Galloway teases an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll out Saturday that finds Democrats in an especially close race for Georgia’s top offices in November.
The poll shows Gov. Nathan Deal (R) just three points ahead of Jason Carter (D) in the race for governor.
In the Senate race, Michelle Nunn (D) “has sizable leads against each of the five top GOP Senate contenders in a potential November matchup, though her lead against businessman David Perdue is particularly narrow.”
Ray LaRaja: “Like much in life, pushing people to the table means offering them rewards and punishments. Otherwise we get stalemate. In the Herald article, a legislator complains about ‘arm twisting.’ Cry me a river. He has a choice: ignore the leadership and vote his conscience or go with the majority. Voters will ultimately decide if his principled stand was worth the price of ignoring the arm-twist.”
A new Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll finds the majority of Americans believe that “an increase in community activism would have a more significant impact on daily life than the candidate they elect as president.”
Key finding: “56% of respondents told pollsters that more volunteering in their community would have ‘a more positive impact on [their] day-to-day life’ than electing a president who agrees with them on important issues. Just 39% said that the election of a particular president would have a greater impact.”
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Wonk Wire shows that Republicans are really out-of-step with most of the word on climate change.
“I think we ought to raise it, because frankly, our party is all about more jobs and better pay, and I think communicating that is important to us.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by the Washington Post, urging Republicans to increase the minimum wage.
Democrats crashed the victory party for Thom Tillis (R) and filmed footage for an effective new ad.
A new Southern Media & Opinion Research poll finds Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) leading the jungle primary for Senate with 36%, followed closely by Bill Cassidy (R) at 35%.
Key findings: Landrieu’s disapproval rating has risen from 28% to 58% in the last 18 months and 59% says they would rather have a new senator, even though Landrieu is now the chair of the powerful Senate Energy Committee.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) “will headline fundraisers for the Ready for Hillary super PAC on June 5 in Chicago. He’s one of the highest-profile officials so far to help collect megabucks for the group encouraging Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
Said Emanuel: “I’m for Hillary.”
Michael Sneed “hears rumbles former President Bill Clinton, who lied about his affair with White House intern Monica ‘That Woman’ Lewinsky, may opt to publicly apologize for the abuse Lewinsky claims she’s endured since the sex scandal broke more than 15 years ago.”
Politico: “The Koch brothers’ main political arm intends to spend more than $125 million this year on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives… The projected budget for Americans for Prosperity would be unprecedented for a private political group in a midterm, and would likely rival even the spending of the Republican and Democratic parties’ congressional campaign arms.”
Huffington Post: Former ‘Dark Money’ Man For Kochs Was Behind Mystery Video
A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) remains deadlocked in a reelection battle with challenger Tom Foley (R), 43% to 43%.
Sarah Palin “resurfaced in Alaska politics Wednesday, calling an Anchorage radio talk show to heap praise on the former oil tax regime she helped put into law, take a jab at Gov. Sean Parnell’s ties to the oil industry, and all but endorse one of his opponents in this year’s governor’s race, attorney Bill Walker,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.
“An elusive and enigmatic presence in Alaska after she became a national celebrity and resigned as governor in 2009, Palin has long been quiet in state politics.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) “says he won’t appeal a state court ruling that struck down its voter identification law,” the AP reports.
“The law was one of the strictest in the nation, requiring nearly all voters to show certain forms of photo identification at the polls. It was never enforced, having been put on hold during the legal challenge. A state judge declared it unconstitutional in January.”
“The White House is carving out a role for President Barack Obama in this fall’s midterm elections, which he will try to pose as a choice between the parties’ economic visions while targeting appeals to African-Americans, young voters and others in his coalition,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The driving theory in the White House is that this election, like every one since the 2007 recession, is foremost about the economy. Mr. Obama already has been drawing contrasts between his economic program and that of Republicans, and he is preparing additional executive actions over the next month relating to infrastructure projects and job training to bolster his argument, aides said.”
Timothy Geithner says in a new memoir “that he considered stepping down as Treasury secretary in 2010 after the financial crisis and suggested Hillary Clinton as a possible successor,” the AP reports.
President Obama “rebuffed Geithner’s suggestion, and he remained at Treasury until 2013.”
“Next month former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy will publish his book Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment. And already the Democratic party is trying to raise money off the title,” the Weekly Standard reports.
“A comprehensive, single piece of legislation on any topic, but especially on immigration, is going to be very difficult to achieve … We keep talking about the same issue now for 15 years, and everybody is doing this all-or-nothing approach. And all-or-nothing is going to leave you with nothing.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), quoted by Politico, on the prospects for immigration reform.
“You could take Lloyd Blankfein into a dark alley and slit his throat, and it would satisfy them for about two days. Then the blood lust would rise again.”
— Bill Clinton, as recounted by former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to the New York Times.
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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