A man who shouted “no public sector cuts” at British Prime Minister David Cameron during a speech has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service, the BBC reports.
How Jeb Bush’s Views Have Evolved Over 20 Years
Jeb Bush “insists that he will not contort himself to satisfy the ideologues of the Republican Party as he lays the groundwork for a possible presidential run in 2016. But as he pledges to stay true to his beliefs, an examination of Mr. Bush’s record reveals ways in which those views have already changed since his first run for elected office — in presentation, in tone, in language and, at times, in substance,” the New York Times reports.
“The long trail of Mr. Bush’s pronouncements — from his days as a candidate for governor of Florida in 1994 to his role today as a public policy expert bent on recasting the Republican brand — will inevitability invite suspicion from within his party that he lacks genuine conservative conviction, a wariness that he needs to overcome to win the Republican nomination. But the journey that the trail represents may give Mr. Bush the broader, cross-party appeal necessary to compete in a presidential general election.”
Huffington Post: If you think Jeb Bush is a moderate, you missed his 1994 campaign
France Declares War on Radical Islam
Frenh Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared that France “was at war with radical Islam after the harrowing sieges that had led to the deaths of three gunmen and four hostages the day before. New details emerged about the bloody final confrontations, and security forces remained on high alert,” the New York Times reports.
Said Valls: “It is a war against terrorism, against jihadism, against radical Islam, against everything that is aimed at breaking fraternity, freedom, solidarity.”
Steyer Moving Closer to Senate Run
“Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is moving hard towards a bid to replace one of the Senate’s staunchest green champions, retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA),” The Hill reports.
“Steyer has been working the phones to gauge interest in a campaign since Boxer’s announcement Thursday. He’s been in contact with the California strategists and backers who he worked with to push through two state initiatives, as well as allies in labor and the statehouse. He’s weighing how to keep his super-PAC, NextGen Climate, alive and active during a run. And he’s been poring through recent polling testing his profile, numbers his allies say indicate he could do well.”
Is Romney Serious About Running Again?
Time: “Members of Romney’s inner circle remain skeptical that the two-time Republican presidential contender will make a third bid for the White House, even after he told top Republican donors Friday that he was weighing another try for the Oval Office in 2016… Other major candidates have begun hiring staff, courting activists and taking other concrete steps toward assembling a campaign. Romney has not.”
“One Republican consultant suggests that posturing over a possible campaign was a way to signal that he wouldn’t cede automatically donors or staff to Bush… This is why veteran operatives of the Romney campaigns consider the revived rumors of a 2016 campaign overblown. They have long scoffed at the notion he’d run again. They believe their former boss would be an excellent president. They say Romney agrees. At the same time, they don’t expect a campaign to materialize.”
Christie To Meet with GOP Leaders in South Carolina
New Jersey Gov. Christie (R) “has arranged a getting-to-know-you session with prominent Republicans in the early primary state of South Carolina next week — a sign that Christie is still serious about a presidential bid despite more aggressive moves by other potential GOP candidates so far this year,” CNN reports.
Bratton Calls for End to Police Work Slowdown
“Seeking to end more than two weeks of a precipitous drop in police activity, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said on Friday that he had instructed top commanders to do what they could to reverse the trend,” the New York Times reports.
Felony Charges Recommended Against Petraeus
The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., the New York Times reports.
“The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Mr. Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his C.I.A. email account and other highly classified information. F.B.I. agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Mr. Petraeus resigned from the C.I.A. in 2012 when the affair became public.”
Romney Mulls Another Presidential Bid
Mitt Romney told a meeting of donors that he is considering another White House bid in 2016, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The possibility of a third Romney bid could upend the emerging GOP field, coming as top Republican donors are starting to rally behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush… The former Massachusetts governor didn’t give a timetable for making a decision about another White House run, but he cited unrest overseas as one of the reasons he’s considering another campaign. He also mentioned the long-term health of the economy.”
Harry Enten: 5 reasons Romney may be tempted to jump in the race
Pay Attention to the Invisible Primary
“If you want to be a savvy political reader, it’s time to start paying attention to the flurry of articles about the so-called invisible primary: the behind-the-scenes competition for the support of elected officials, donors, party leaders and political operatives,” the New York Times reports.
“The invisible primary is well underway, and it will confer the resources, attention and credibility necessary to win a presidential nomination. A candidate who locks up a majority of potential support in the invisible primary, like George W. Bush in 2000, almost never loses. Many plausible candidates who fail to attract support in the invisible primary simply decide not to run at all. Those who try without such support, and gain momentum by winning an early primary, still usually lose.”
Christie Was Questioned by Federal Investigators
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “was interrogated recently by federal investigators probing the 2013 lane-closure scandal that has threatened his political future,” officials confirmed to ABC News.
“Christie met with federal prosecutors and FBI agents last month during a secret session at the New Jersey governor’s mansion in Princeton. He agreed to sit down with investigators voluntarily after they offered him a chance to provide his side of the story. Interviewing Christie was one of the final steps in the investigation, which appears to be wrapping up, according to those briefed on it.”
Some Told Boehner They Would Vote Against Him
Multiple sources told Roll Call that some Republican House members made Speaker John Boehner “aware of their intention to vote against him, and pleaded with the speaker to understand the political pressure they were under in their overwhelmingly red districts.”
“Exactly what was said or promised between Boehner and these members isn’t clear, but many members said they faced immense pressure from constituents to vote for someone else.”
House Plans Vote on Immigration Next Week
“The House plans to vote next week on legislation that would defund President Obama’s executive action on immigration,” The Hill reports. “Republicans also plan to include language rolling back a 2012 action Obama took that gave legal status to children brought to the United States as illegal immigrants.”
“The legislation is meant as am opening salvo to Obama’s executive action on immigration. After the midterm elections, Obama took steps that could give legal status to as many as 4.5 million illegal immigrants.”
Jeb Bush’s Last Name Problem
First Read: “If he runs for the White House, Jeb Bush will have considerable name ID, a deep roster of party honchos he can count on, and tons of money… But he’s also going to have one major problem: his last name. That was the conclusion after one of us observed a focus group NBC/WSJ pollster Peter Hart (D) conducted in battleground Colorado for the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. The 12 focus-group participants — a combination of Democrats, Republicans, and independents — appeared to have two beefs with Bush. One, they were down on dynastic candidates… Two, they clearly associated Jeb Bush with his brother.”
Huckabee Jokes About Rape in New Book
U.S. News & World Report reports that Chapter 10 of Mike Huckabee’s new book is titled “Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!”
What Color is John Boehner?
The New York Times uploaded a high-resolution, tightly cropped picture of the perpetually-tanned Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) into the Sherwin-Williams Color Visualizer.
“Unfortunately, none of the colors we were able to identify using Photoshop’s eyedropper tool were a direct match in the Sherwin-Williams database of paint colors. But the Color Visualizer found us the closest matches: Spicy Hue and Husky Orange.”
Sanders Plans a ‘Class-Based’ Presidential Campaign
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tells Time he would run a “class-based” presidential campaign that could “unfurl as early as March.”
His biggest regret about President Obama is that he never stood up like Franklin Delano Roosevelt did in 1936 to denounce the “economic royalists” of finance and industry, to “welcome their hatred.”
Said Sanders: “Point the finger at the billionaire class to say, ‘You know what, they hate my guts, the Koch brothers hate me, it’s all right. But I’m with you, and this is what we’re going to do.'”
Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.6%
The U.S. economy added 252,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate dipped to 5.6%, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Wonk Wire: Standard of living index reaches new high
