“If we can’t build a fence high enough… we ought to go to China and see how they built a wall.”
— Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), quoted by the Bangor Daily News, on illegal immigration.
Actor Accused in Sex Crime Appears in Campaign Ad
The actor featured in a campaign ad for Kansas gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis (D) “was previously suspended from a teaching job in connection with inappropriate conduct with a student and had been arrested in connection with solicitation of sodomy in a law enforcement sting,” the Topeka Capital-Journal reports.
Davis’s campaign pulled the commercial and apologized for including the actor in the spot.
House GOP May Bring Back Press Briefings
New House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is leaving the door open to bringing back weekly pen and pad briefings with reporters, but a final decision hasn’t been made, Politico reports.
GOP Has No 2016 Frontrunner
Larry Sabato: “In our latest shuffle of the 2016 Crystal Ball presidential outlook, we’ve decided that the Republican first tier is…empty. Our Republican friends might object, but deep down, we think they would be hard-pressed to argue for any single name to head this long list: There’s simply no one in the field who is clearly more likely to get the nomination than a half-dozen or more others.”
Will Senate Control Hinge on Kansas?
Sam Wang looks at the stunning news that Chad Taylor (D) dropped his Senate bid in Kansas allowing Greg Orman (I) to have a clear shot at taking down Sen. Pat Roberts (R).
“An Orman win could have a seismic effect on who controls the Senate. Orman says that he would caucus with the Senate’s two other independents, Bernie Sanders and Angus King. Both Sanders and King currently caucus with the Democrats. To be fair, Orman is not just a Democrat in disguise-he has promised to vote out Democrat Harry Reid as Majority Leader if he gets the chance. But Orman says that he wants to break the current gridlock in the Senate, and Senate Republicans have been gumming up the works on legislation and judicial appointments. So while Orman would be far from a shoo-in to vote for every Democratic position, he would certainly not be involved in any alliances with the Republicans.”
First Read: “The Republican Party in Kansas is bitterly divided. Roberts has his own set of problems, thanks to missteps that only reinforce the image that he’s gone too Washington. And in this political environment, it’s a big problem. Couple the two issues together — a divided state GOP and a bitter electorate at all things Washington — and suddenly you see a true bipartisan populist uprising of sorts that could start shaking more than just Kansas.”
10 Midterm Races That May Impact 2016
National Journal: “With just 62 days to go until Election Day, the focus of the political world is on the 2014 midterms. Senate control hangs in the balance, and a number of highly competitive, currently neck-and-neck races will help determine who comes out on top.”
“But what happens on November 4 has a big impact for the 2016 election as well. There are many pivotal Senate, gubernatorial, and even down-ballot contests that carry implications for the next presidential race, some involving future White House prospects and others from parties testing future messages.”
Judge Upholds Louisiana Gay Marriage Ban
A federal judge’s ruling “that upheld Louisiana’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage didn’t just break a streak of more than 20 federal court victories for same-sex marriage couples, it took a swipe at the apparent unanimity of federal judges to date,” the New Orleans Times Picayune reports.
Boehner Wants to Shame Senate in Short Session
Speaker John Boehner outlined the September legislative agenda in a conference call with House Republican lawmakers, describing a scheduled 12-day session that will be “brief, but busy,” Roll Call reports.
House Republicans’ “closing argument” before they depart for the campaign trail ahead of Election Day will be moving legislation while the “do-nothing Senate plans to spend the final legislative days before November talking about the Koch brothers.”
French President’s Jilted Lover Tells All
Daily Beast: “She’s baaack–literally with a vengeance. Just eight months after President François Hollande rode into the tabloids on the back of a bodyguard’s scooter, the bedroom farce at the Elysée Palace is getting a provocative second act. Valérie Trierweiler, France’s erstwhile first lady, returns to the spotlight with a top-secret tell-all set to hit French bookstores en masse on Thursday. Spoiler: she’s not happy. And her memoir’s timing couldn’t be worse for Hollande’s flailing presidency.”
Congress Lays Groundwork for War on ISIS
As President Obama “weighs U.S. options for confronting ISIS, the insurgent group in control of parts of Iraq and Syria, lawmakers in both the House and Senate are moving to ensure that the administration has the authority to take military action if necessary,” Roll Call reports.
Wildstein Discussed Bridge Closure with Officer
“As thousands of commuters were stuck in traffic on the George Washington Bridge during lane closures apparently ordered by Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) aides as political payback, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police lieutenant with ties to Christie was eating breakfast with the executive who ordered the closures,” the AP reports.
Can Young Candidates Fix Our Government?
David Gergen: “At a time when national politics is so broken, a new generation of young men and women who first cut their teeth in service to others are now venturing into the political arena, offering us fresh, idealistic leadership that may be our best hope of breaking out of today’s mess.”
“This new wave of candidates comes from two vital streams in American life: young veterans coming home from protecting their country overseas along with others who served their country back home as volunteers in classrooms, hospitals, shelters, and beyond. Veterans and social entrepreneurs — they are joining forces and could become a new, powerful force for change.”
Presidential Approval or Generic Ballot?
Nate Cohn: “Usually, election watchers can get a good read on the mood of the electorate by looking at presidential approval ratings or at the generic ballot, which asks voters which party they would prefer to control Congress. Historically, they’re fairly interchangeable. Leo happens to use the generic ballot; the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog uses the president’s approval rating.”
“This year, the two metrics are not so interchangeable. Mr. Obama’s approval ratings are stuck in the low 40s — around 42 percent… That’s lower than at this time in 2010, so it’s easy to see why so many have taken the president’s ratings as a sign of an impending catastrophe for Democrats…. The generic ballot, on the other hand, puts the Democrats ahead by about 2 points among registered voters. That’s nothing like 2010, when the Republicans had opened a 3-point lead on the generic ballot by early September after making steady gains over the summer.”
Democrat Drops Senate Bid in Kansas
The race for U.S. Senate in Kansas “no longer has a Democrat,” the Wichita Eagle reports.
Chad Taylor (D) “dropped out of the race Wednesday, opening up room for independent candidate Greg Orman to face Sen. Pat Roberts (R) head-on in November… Taylor’s decision to drop out comes on the same day that Orman was endorsed by more than 70 former Republican lawmakers.”
DNC Chief Says Walker’s Policies are Like Domestic Violence
DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz ripped Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) policies by comparing them to acts of domestic violence against women, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Said Schultz: “Scott Walker has given women the back of his hand. I know that is stark. I know that is direct. But that is reality. What Republican Tea Party extremists like Scott Walker are doing is they are grabbing us by the hair and pulling us back. It is not going to happen on our watch.”
GOP Favored to Take Control of Senate
The latest FiveThirtyEight forecast gives Republicans a 64% chance of winning control of the U.S. Senate.
Key takeaway: “An equally important theme is the high degree of uncertainty around that outcome. A large number of states remain competitive, and Democrats could easily retain the Senate. It’s also possible that the landscape could shift further in Republicans’ direction. Our model regards a true Republican wave as possible: It gives the party almost a 25 percent chance of finishing with 54 or more Senate seats once all the votes are counted.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I am not going to create one job, it is not my job to create jobs. It’s yours.”
— Scott Brown (R), quoted by TPM, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
McConnell Leads in Kentucky
A new CNN/ORC International poll in Kentucky finds Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) holds a slim four point edge over challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes (D), 50% to 46%.
Key finding: “What might be a troubling data point for Grimes is the number of Democrats — 16% — who said they are supporting or leaning towards supporting McConnell.”
A new Rasmussen survey has McConnell ahead by five points, 46% to 41%.
