A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll in Arkansas finds Tom Cotton (R) with a small lead over Sen. Mark Pryor (D), 46% to 41%.
Obama Suggested He Might Try to Amend Constitution
The Hill reports President Obama told Democratic donors he might be “in a very strong position” to demand a Constitutional amendment on campaign finance reform during his second term, according to Ken Vogel’s new book.
Said Obama: “Now, I taught constitutional law. I don’t tinker with the Constitution lightly. But I think this is important enough that citizens have to get mobilized around this issue, and this will probably be a multiyear effort. After my reelection, my sense is that I may be in a very strong position to do it.”
Did Obama Break the Law?
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that President Obama “clearly broke the law” in his efforts to free American POW Bowe Bergdahl, the Huffington Post reports.
Said Toobin: “I think he clearly broke the law. The law says 30-days’ notice. Give 30 days’ notice. Now, it is true that he issued a signing statement, but signing statements are not law. Signing statements are the president’s opinion about what the law should mean. Now, it may be that the law is unconstitutional, a violation of his power as commander in chief, but no court has held that. The law is on the books, and he didn’t follow it.”
Quote of the Day
“But fifty years from now, is that going to seem like enough? I think the answer to that is going to be no.”
— White House adviser John Podesta, in an interview with Harper’s, on how President Obama’s new climate change efforts will be viewed historically.
On Wonk Wire
Will the Mississippi Primary Change the Senate Map?
First Read notes that “if Democrats get any kind of opening in Mississippi, here’s why that would be very important in November: A Democratic win there — as remote as it may seem — would raise the GOP’s magic number (from six to seven) in the seats it must net in order to win back the Senate. Given the stakes, you are going to see a lot of pressure on the Lotts and Barbours to get on board if McDaniel wins. Then again, it’s very possible Cochran holds on. This is a 50%-50% race, folks.”
The Senate Race That Slipped Away from Democrats
National Journal: “The Senate race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson could have been one of the most consequential contests in the country, if Democrats had a little more luck. Just over a year ago, the political talk in South Dakota centered on which of their up-and-coming prospects would run–former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, one of the most popular figures in the state after representing it for three full terms in the House, or Tim Johnson’s son Brendan Johnson, who’s serving as a U.S. attorney.”
“As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tried to engineer the situation to their advantage–they preferred Herseth Sandlin to the more-liberal Johnson, and wanted to avoid a contentious primary–the party’s worst-case scenario materialized. Johnson first expressed his disinterest in May 2013, leaving the door wide open for the former congresswoman to run. At the same time Johnson made his decision, Weiland announced his candidacy with support from some Johnson allies.”
Weed for Votes
Los Angeles Times: “Cannabis clubs in San Jose are offering free pot and discounts to patients who go to the polls Tuesday and vote in several contested races. The Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition is organizing the Weed for Votes program as an effort to increase voter turnout at Tuesday’s election.”
Will Cochran Survive His Primary Challenge?
“What Chris McDaniel is trying to do Tuesday – defeat an incumbent U.S. senator from Mississippi – would be almost unheard of in the state’s history,” the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports.
“If McDaniel prevails against long-serving Sen. Thad Cochran in Tuesday’s Republican primary, it would mark the first time since 1942 an incumbent from Mississippi lost a U.S. Senate race. That year Jim Eastland defeated incumbent Wall Doxey, who had won a special election in 1941 after the death of Sen. Pat Harrison.”
Clarion Ledger: “Voters say contentious races are not new to Mississippi, but they can’t remember a Senate race that has been so nasty.”
Sandoval Skeptical About Betting on Elections
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) “isn’t sold on allowing Nevada to become the first state to permit betting on the presidential and other federal elections,” the Las Vegas Sun reports.
Said Sandoval: “As I think through it, unless I’m convinced otherwise, it is not something I would support.”
Clinton’s Legacy at State Still Undefined
Stephen Sestanovich: “The frenzy surrounding the June 10 release of Hillary Clinton’s State Department memoir is at full tilt. Both The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have published chin-pullers on what sort of secretary of state she was. (And this wasn’t just punditry: The Journal’s reporters described a juicy-sounding 2012 Clinton memo to President Barack Obama on the collapse of his “reset” policy toward Russia.) There is, of course, going to be more of this–and if Madam Secretary runs for president, it will never let up.”
“Still, Mrs. Clinton’s record as America’s chief diplomat will not really come into focus until we know how she positions herself for the 2016 campaign. Is she going to run as the candidate who would revive American foreign-policy activism–distancing herself from Mr. Obama’s approach–or would she accept the president’s case for a downsized international role? Mrs. Clinton’s paper trail at State allows her to do either.”
Rubio’s Iowa Play
“Up until about a month ago, Marco Rubio had steered clear of Republican primaries, avoiding antagonizing one wing of the party or the other when he’s probably going to need them both come 2016,” Politico reports.
“Then along came the Iowa Senate primary. It featured a candidate with rare appeal to both wings of the party, in an early presidential voting state where Rubio needs to gain traction if he’s going to run for president. So the Florida Republican senator made an exception: He has gone all in for Joni Ernst, dropping $210,000 in independent expenditures on the Iowa state senator’s behalf and stumping with her Monday in the Des Moines area on the eve of her Tuesday primary for the Senate GOP nomination.”
Republicans Have Mandate for Benghazi Probe
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows 51% of Americans approve of the new congressional Benghazi investigation, while 42% disapprove.
“Those supporting the new investigation include 72% of Republicans (not surprisingly), but they also include 31% of Democrats and a majority — 52% — of political independents.”
“The reason Americans want an investigation? Because they don’t believe Democrats when they say that all the questions have been answered.”
Backlash Grows in Taliban Prisoner Swap
“The initial euphoria over the release of America’s sole prisoner of war in Afghanistan has quickly given way to a more polarizing debate over the value of a secret deal to free Taliban leaders for a soldier some suggest was a deserter,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Soldiers who said they have kept quiet for years have come forward to charge that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl abandoned his Army unit in 2009. Republicans have seized on the prisoner exchange to challenge President Barack Obama for unilaterally freeing five Taliban detainees who could energize the insurgency as American forces leave.”
“The increasing backlash against the deal has cast a cloud over a pillar of American military ideology: leave no soldier behind.”
The Hill: Did Hillary know?
What Republicans Didn’t Say Today
Washington Examiner: “Even as Republican lawmakers denounced the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules on power plants, they avoided one argument: that climate change is not real.”
“For years, congressional Republicans have voiced doubts over the science behind climate change in tones ranging from merely skeptical to certain that it is not happening. Yet no Republican leader on Capitol Hill — and few if any party back-benchers — challenged the existence of climate change when criticizing the proposed Environmental Protection Agency restrictions.”
Wonk Wire: Roundup of reactions to the proposed new EPA rules
GOP Candidate Changes Name to Cesar Chavez
Arizona Capitol Times: “Scott Fistler didn’t have much luck as a Republican candidate. He lost a 2012 write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, then lost a 2013 bid for a Phoenix city council seat now held by Laura Pastor, Ed’s daughter.”
“After petitioning a state superior court last November and paying $319, Fistler now legally shares the name of the celebrated labor movement icon, Cesar Chavez. Earlier this year, Chavez (formerly Fistler) became a Democrat, and – before Ed Pastor announced his retirement from Congress – filed to run in the heavily Hispanic 7th Congressional District.”
Quote of the Day
“The president’s plan is nuts, there’s really no more succinct way to describe it.”
— House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), quoted by the Washington Post, on President Obama’s new EPA rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Christie Has Lost 85 Pounds
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “appears to have shed as many as 85 pounds since his lap-band surgery last year and looks to be down to a healthier 230-something weight,” Politico reports.
