The Washington Post shows how Bill and Hillary Clinton’s biggest source of income has been speaking fees and how Bill has brought in more than $100 million since leaving the White House.
GOP Candidate Says Ruling Will Lead to Incestuous Marriage
Wisconsin congressional candidate Karen Mueller (R) said that a recent federal ruling striking down Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban could lead to incestuous marriages, the Tomah Journal reports.
Said Mueller: “We’ve got, for instance, two sisters, and these two sisters want to get married. They love each other. They are committed to each other. They want to spend the rest of their life together.”
She said their lawyers could argue, “‘We can just do away with that state law the same way we did away with sodomy laws.’ Once you do away with that, you reveal what is really going on here.”
Republicans Broke Into McAuliffe’s Office to Deliver Budget
At the urging of Virginia House Speaker William Howell, “the clerk’s office of the House of Delegates enlisted the help of the Capitol Police to enter Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s (D) unoccupied, secure suite of offices on a Sunday afternoon to deliver the state budget,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“The highly unusual entry on June 15 took place without the permission of administration officials or the knowledge of the Virginia State Police, which is in charge of protecting the governor. McAuliffe was not in the building.”
Haley Holds Small Lead in Re-Election Bid
A new Public Policy Polling survey in South Carolina finds Gov. Nikki Haley (R) just edging Vincent Sheheen (D) in the race for governor, 49% to 46%.
Most Americans Don’t Know Which Party Controls Congress
A new Pew Research survey finds that “just 40% of Americans can correctly identify the partisan balance in both the House of Representatives and the Senate (that Republicans have the majority in the former, and Democrats in the latter). The remaining six-in-ten know only one (33%) or neither (28%) of those facts.”
GOP Lawmaker May Have Accidently Legalized Pot in D.C.
“Shortly after noon Wednesday, the Republicans of the House Appropriations Committee (plus one Democrat) voted to block the District’s recently passed marijuana decriminalization law. Leading the charge was Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who said the measure was ‘bad policy’ that would harm children,” the Washington Post reports.
“But District lawyers are now exploring whether he might have actually moved to, in effect, legalize marijuana possession instead.”
Prosecutor Hasn’t Decided on Walker Charges
A prosecutor cautioned that he “hasn’t made a final determination about whether Gov. Scott Walker (R) and his campaign illegally coordinated fundraising among conservative groups during the recall elections during 2011 and 2012,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Gohmert Photobombs Fellow Lawmaker
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) creepily snuck up behind Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) as he was interviewed on Fox News yesterday.
Candidate Concedes After One Day Recount Yields One Vote
Lesli Gooch (R) has halted her bid for a recount of ballots in California congressional race in which she placed third, narrowly missing a place on the fall general election ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“After the first day’s recount gave her only one additional vote, she decided to throw in the towel… Gooch is required to pay in advance for the preparation and cost of the one-day recount, which San Bernardino County election officials estimated at $6,330. The cost would have been reimbursed had Gooch prevailed.”
Hagan Grabs Back Lead in North Carolina
A new Civitas Poll in North Carolina finds Sen. Kay Hagan (D) leading challenger Thom Tillis (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 42%.
A previous poll had Hagan trailing by five points.
Howard Baker Has Died
“Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, a Republican who reshaped Tennessee politics and was once thought to be a contender for the presidency, has died,” the Tennessean reports.
“Baker, 88, served 18 years in the U.S. Senate. In 1966, he was the first Republican to be popularly elected to the Senate from Tennessee. Baker was also a chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan and a U.S. Ambassador to Japan.”
Freedom to Marry for Half
Wonk Wire: Nearly half of gay Americans live in states where they can marry
Grimes Just Ahead in Kentucky
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Kentucky shows Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) leading Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 46%.
Beyond Red vs. Blue
Pew Research: “Partisan polarization – the vast and growing gap between Republicans and Democrats – is a defining feature of politics today. But beyond the ideological wings, which make up a minority of the public, the political landscape includes a center that is large and diverse, unified by frustration with politics and little else. As a result, both parties face formidable challenges in reaching beyond their bases to appeal to the middle of the electorate and build sustainable coalitions.”
Take the quiz to see where you fit in the nation’s political typology. Leave your observations in the comments.
Supreme Court Narrows Recess Appointment Authority
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court “limited a president’s power to make recess appointments when the White House and the Senate are controlled by opposite parties, scaling back a presidential authority as old as the republic,” NBC News reports.
“The case arose from a political dispute between President Obama and Senate Republicans, who claimed he had no authority to put three people on the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012 when the Senate was out of town.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“It is incredibly hypocritical that Hillary Clinton would carry on about an imagined ‘Republican war on women’ when she once got a child rapist off the hook who she knew to be guilty, and laughed about how she did it when interviewed. In the process, she de-legitimized the legitimate claims of the 12-year-old victim and then slandered the victim to justify her tactics.”
— Former Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), in an interview with the Daily Mail, referring to a 1970s sexual abuse case in which Hillary Clinton served as a defense attorney.
Immigration Reform Effectively Dead
“The two-year attempt to push immigration reform through Congress is effectively dead and unlikely to be revived until after President Obama leaves office, numerous lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the issue said this week,” the Washington Post reports.
“The slow collapse of hopes for new border legislation — which has unraveled in recent months amid persistent opposition from House Republicans — marks the end of an effort that both Democrats and Republicans have characterized as central to the future of their parties. The failure leaves some 12 million illegal immigrants in continuing limbo over their status and is certain to increase political pressure on Obama from the left to act on his own.”
Tea Party Promises Win in Tennessee
After a loss in Mississippi, the New York Times reports Tea Party members in Tennessee “were making a bold — even defiant — proclamation: They will win the Senate seat in Tennessee.”
“The activists hope a little-known state representative, Joe Carr, a self-described underdog who has attacked efforts to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, can oust the Republican incumbent, Lamar Alexander, 73, the former governor and two-time presidential candidate who began working on Capitol Hill in the late 1960s.”
