National Journal: “Republicans may have already nailed down Cleveland as their convention city for 2016 — but Democrats are still in the midst of the selection process… Philadelphia and Brooklyn are looking like early front-runners to host.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“It’s not like we’re pals.”
— Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), quoted by Politico, on his relationship with Hillary Clinton.
Quote of the Day
“It is clearly obvious that witches can only be found by dunking them in water. If they float they’re a witch. If they don’t, installing a pool will allow us to retrieve the non-witch before he or she drowns.”
— Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), quoted by National Journal, sarcastically suggesting ways to help what he calls a “witch hunt” by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
Two Different Polls in Georgia
A new Rasmussen Reports survey in Georgia finds David Perdue (R) leading Michelle Nunn (D) in the U.S. Senate race by six points, 46% to 40%.
A new Landmark Communications survey shows Nunn leading by four points, 47% to 43%.
Washington Post: “One rare feature of the race is that neither of the major party candidates has held elective office before. From 1980 through 2012 there were only two elections like this.”
How the Left Took Over the Democratic Party
Doug Sosnik: “The lead-in to the 2016 presidential campaign could force a tipping point as early as next year if Hillary Clinton declines to run and a broad field emerges. If that happens, candidates will feel a great deal of pressure to appeal to the highly engaged, energized and well-funded activists who have been clamoring for a robust progressive agenda. Even if Clinton runs, her candidacy won’t preempt the party’s eventual takeover by the activist forces. It will only slow it down. Candidate Clinton, who appears to have the overwhelming support of the activist base, will nevertheless feel pressure from the left to pursue a more economically populist approach to solving our country’s problems.”
“And now, with the left lining up around a Clinton candidacy, the activist base will continue to make incremental progress toward assuming control of the Democratic Party.”
The Voting Group That Decides Every Election
The Atlantic: “Republicans consistently win voters making $50,000 or more, approximately the U.S. median income. The margin doesn’t vary too much: In 2012, Mitt Romney got 53 percent of this group’s vote; in 2010, Republican House candidates got 55 percent. And Democrats consistently win voters making less than the median–but the margin varies widely. In fact, whether Democrats win these voters by a 10-point or a 20-point margin tells you who won every national election for the past decade.”
Congress is Completely Broken
First Read: “Yes, Congress has typically been divided over ideology (liberal vs. conservative) or geography (North vs. South, big states vs. small ones). And, yes, partisan flare-ups in the summer of an election year are hardly new. But here is why this Congress appears more broken than past ones: It can’t even seem to do the small, bipartisan things anymore. Case in point is the legislative dysfunction surrounding the responses to 1) the unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and 2) reforming the VA hospitals across the country. Almost every member — Democratic or Republican — said the situation at the border was a humanitarian crisis that needed a response. But passing emergency spending (between $2 to $4 billion in aid) has become such a difficult lift, and looks less likely by the day. Last month, every member of Congress said VA hospitals needed to better serve veterans, and the Senate (by a 93-3 vote) and House (426-0) passed legislation to reform these hospitals. But they’ve been unable to come together in a conference committee to reconcile the two bills.”
“Folks, we’re not talking about overhauling the nation’s health-care system, enacting comprehensive immigration reform, raising taxes, or changing entitlement programs — all of which have sparked fierce ideological battles in the past. We’re talking about the small stuff, actions that either have near-universal support or that cost relative drops in the federal budget. That’s why this gridlock is different.”
What Does Hillary Clinton Stand For?
Andrew Sullivan: “I’d like to find a reason to believe she’s a political force who stands for something in an era when there is a real appetite for serious change. She could, after all, decide to campaign vociferously in favor of the ACA this summer and fall (universal healthcare is, after all, one of her positions), but that might siphon money away from her foundation and candidacy. She could get out there and start framing a foreign policy vision. But, again, too risky. I see nothing that suggests a real passion for getting on with the fight – just the usual presumptions of a super-elite, super-rich and super-cocooned politician of the gilded age.”
Army War College to Investigate Plagiarism Charge
The U.S. Army War College told NBC Montana that it will convene an Academic Review Board to look into allegations of plagiarism against democratic Sen. John Walsh (D-MT).
“Walsh is accused plagiarizing portions of his 2007 Master’s Thesis. According to the statement, if Walsh is found to have intentionally plagiarized another work the college could revoke his graduation status.”
Brownback’s Re-Election Bid in Trouble
A new Survey USA poll in Kansas finds Paul Davis (D) leading Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in the race for governor by eight points, 48% to 40%, with Libertarian Keen Umbehr at 5%.
Shaheen Maintains Lead in New Hampshire
A new Magellan Strategies survey in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) leading challenger Scott Brown (R) in the U.S. Senate race by six points, 46% to 41%.
Deadlocked in New Mexico
A new Rasmussen survey in New Mexico finds Gov. Susana Martinez (R) locked in a tie with challenger Gary King (D) in the race for governor, 43% to 43%.
Quote of the Day
“The lethal injection needs to be an indeed lethal injection and not the bollocks-upped situation that just prevailed. That’s torture.”
— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by Politico.
Graham Holds Double-Digit Lead in South Carolina
A new Palmetto Politics poll in South Carolina finds Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) leading a four-way race for U.S. Senate with 45%, followed by Brad Hutto (D) at 33%, Thomas Ravenel (I) at 10% and Victor Kocher (L) at 4%.
The poll also found President Obama’s approval rating at just 39%.
Said pollster Jim Lee: “I think the elephant in the room in the Senate race is Obama’s approval rating. That’s really the reason why, in my opinion, Hutto is not competitive.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I should have one Republican kid who’d grow up to make money.”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by WLWT, when talking about the professional choices made by his children.
Judge Says Executions Should Be By Firing Squad
“Days before an Arizona murderer gasped and snorted for more than 90 minutes and died nearly two hours after his execution began, a conservative federal appeals judge called for replacing lethal injection with firing squads, saying the public must acknowledge that executions are ‘brutal, savage events,'” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Write Judge Alex Kozinski: “Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and beautiful — like something any one of us might experience in our final moments. But executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf.”
Democrats Plan to Play Up GOP Lawsuit
Greg Sargent: “Democratic leaders are planning an aggressive effort to turn the House GOP lawsuit against President Obama into a political positive in the 2014 elections, with ads and other paid media designed to cast the GOP as extreme and committed to destructive governing — which Dems hope will contrast sharply with their concrete economic policy agenda.”
No Signs of a Wave Yet
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Let’s stipulate that a wave can develop late in the season, in September or even October, and if it does in 2014, it will be colored Red and the Senate will surely go Republican. Even without a wave, there’s a fair to good chance the GOP will end up with the six net seats they need for control — and little chance they’ll pick up fewer than four seats in any event.”
“But 2014 is no 2006. The electorate had turned off to George W. Bush and would never again turn on. The Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina were two principal reasons. The full Democratic wave emerged in the fall, after some GOP congressional scandals, but even at this point in 2006, we were just debating how high the Democratic tide would rise.”
“2014 is also no 2010. All of the energy was on the Republican side four years ago, as Obamacare bombed, the Tea Party arose, and the poor economy that helped elect Obama lingered. The building GOP wave was so impressive that the Crystal Ball was able to predict a House switch from Democratic to Republican control by Labor Day even though Democrats held about a 75-seat majority at that time.”
