The Supreme Court ruled that a town in upstate New York may begin its public meetings with a prayer from a “chaplain of the month,” the New York Times reports.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority in the 5-to-4 decision, said “ceremonial prayer is but a recognition that, since this nation was founded and until the present day, many Americans deem that their own existence must be understood by precepts far beyond that authority of government to alter or define.”
Roll Call has a must-see cheat sheet for all the House and Senate primaries this month.
“I go out of my way to avoid meeting candidates and politicians. All too often, these people are so disappointing that it’s depressing. Most of these people you meet, they’re unemployable…. It’s just easier not to know.”
— GOP super donor John Jordan, quoted by National Journal.
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Iowa U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst (R) is the latest candidate pledging to shoot President Obama’s health care law in a new ad.
Wonk Wire notes the uninsured rate dropped dramatically in the first quarter of 2014.
Under federal investigation, former Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) filed for Congress, chatting with fellow candidates in line while refusing to talk to The Miami Herald about his legal challenges.
Said Rivera: “You can email me.”
A nationwide USA Today/Pew Research Center Poll “shows the strongest tilt to Republican candidates at this point in a midterm year in at least two decades, including before partisan ‘waves’ in 1994 and 2010 that swept the GOP into power. Though Election Day is six months away — a lifetime in politics — at the moment, Democrats are saddled by angst over the economy, skepticism about the health care law and tepid approval of the president.”
Key finding: “Registered voters are inclined to support the Republican candidate over the Democrat in their congressional district by 47% to 43%. That 4-percentage-point edge may seem small, but it’s notable because Democrats traditionally fare better among registered voters than they do among those who actually cast ballots, especially in low-turnout midterms.”
The Week: Democrats aren’t in as much trouble as you think
“Perhaps if the Republicans can’t beat Hillary Clinton fairly in 2016, they can make her so disgusted by the prospect of running that she’ll stay out of the race,” Politico reports.
“That’s where the Benghazi-Industrial Complex comes in.”
“Clinton’s 20-year sojourn in public life has been bracketed, jarringly, by two pseudo-scandals, both involving the tragic and less-than-fully-explained death of an important man in Hillary’s orbit. In between there have been assorted smears and public humiliations, including real traumas like Monicagate, the cumulative effect of which has been to make Hillary reluctant to reenter the political game. Or so many of her friends and aides say, and so Republicans must be hoping.”
The Week: A number that should scare Hillary Clinton
Wall Street Journal: “Four years after Republicans grabbed their largest number of legislative seats since the Great Depression, the party is positioned to gain House and Senate majorities in more states, putting energy regulation, social issues and taxes in play even as Washington remains gridlocked.”
“Control of five state Senates would swing to the GOP with a gain of no more than three seats, and the party is targeting four additional state legislative chambers, believing the political environment favors Republicans this year. The party already has full legislative control in 26 of the 50 states and holds 29 governorships heading into 2014 elections.”
“I don’t know whether it was inhumane or not, but it was botched.”
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by The Hill, on Oklahoma’s trouble carrying out the death penalty last week for a convicted murderer.
The Wall Street Journal notes President Obama “isn’t making any special overtures to independents.”
“Midterm elections often hinge on which of the two parties does a better job of mobilizing base votes. The White House is emphasizing pay equity for women and the minimum wage… It’s the stuff that excites party activists and liberals. Swing voters? Maybe not as much.”
“As a political matter, the strategy is a gamble. The bet is that, come November, any softening of independent support will be offset by a wave of minority, women and liberal voters eager to keep the Senate in Democratic hands.”
“A group of wealthy liberal donors who helped bankroll the Center for American Progress and other major advocacy groups on the left is developing a new big-money strategy that could boost state-level Democratic candidates and mobilize core party voters,” the Washington Post reports.
“The plan… seeks to give Democrats a stronger hand in the redrawing of district lines for state legislatures and the U.S. House. The effort reflects a sense among many top donors on the left that Democrats missed opportunities in 2010 to shape the redistricting process and contain the tea party wave that helped propel Republican victories around the country.”
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) guest at the Kentucky Derby last weekend was media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, the New York Times reports.
“That Mr. Murdoch, no novice when it comes to matters of political imagery, allowed himself to be paraded for six hours around the boisterous and bourbon-drenched grounds like a prize horse behind a proud jockey, amounted to a message to more establishment Republicans that, as Mr. Murdoch put it, ‘I’m very open minded.'”
The Week: Expect Paul to get better coverage on Fox News
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he’s keeping “all options open” on whether to seek the governor’s office in 2016 or remain in the Senate, where he has expressed frustration with partisanship and gridlock, Politico reports.
Said Manchin: “The Senate gives me a great vehicle to make a difference in the world, and in my country and in my state. With that being said, if I don’t see changes being made, if I don’t think that I’m being productive and contributing to something in a positive manner, I’ve got to evaluate where I’m at and where I might be most effective.”
A new Vox Populi Polling (R) survey shows Monica Wheby (R) leading Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 41%.
Politico: “The month of May will go a long way toward answering one of the overriding questions of Election 2014: Can the Republican establishment finally quell the tea party and retake the Senate?”
“A month-long series of primaries, stretching across 10 states from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest, is the first major electoral clash between the GOP’s two wings since 2012. It kicks off Tuesday in North Carolina, where the party establishment has lined up behind state House Speaker Thom Tillis against a tea party-aligned foe, Greg Brannon, and another contender who has galvanized the Christian right, Mark Harris.”
The Hill: “The Republican establishment is going all-in for North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis — and it seems to be working.”
A new McLaughlin & Associates poll in Georgia finds Jack Kingston leading the GOP pack for Senate with 20%, followed by David Perdue at 17%, Karen Handel at 14%, Phil Gingrey at 13% and Paul Broun at 8%.
Washington Post: “The glitchy rollout of HealthCare.gov and a contentious relationship with Congress might have bedeviled the White House over the past year, but at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington on Saturday night, President Obama milked them for comedic fodder.”
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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