Illinois congressional candidate Susanne Atanus (R) told the Chicago Daily Herald that she “believes God controls the weather and has put tornadoes and diseases such as autism and dementia on earth as punishment for gay rights and legalized abortions.”

Said Atanus: “I am a conservative Republican and I believe in God first. God is angry. We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions. Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it’s in our military it will weaken our military. We need to respect God.”

Daily Beast: “The Tea Party Texas congressman challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in March’s primary is the new invisible man of American politics. The Texas congressman hasn’t shown up on Capitol Hill for a vote since January 9. Instead, he has made only sporadic public appearances, surfacing once in North Dallas on January 14 and then a few days later in Cairo. In between, Stockman missed key votes in Washington, including the omnibus budget. His spokeman, Donny Ferguson, has not responded to inquiries on the Congressman’s whereabouts.”

“The GOP has made opposition to Obamacare a central pillar of its 2014 campaign strategy. And even though the health care law has begun to turn around, that may not be such a bad idea given lingering public skepticism over the law,” The Week reports.

“However, there is one crucial piece of Obamacare that may well become a big winner for Democrats by the end of the year: The dramatic expansion of Medicaid. Unlike the overall law, the expansion of Medicaid is actually quite popular with voters of all political stripes.”

Greg Sargent notes how red state Democrats are handling the law: “They are not embracing Obamcare. But they oppose repeal, and they are standing behind the general goal of expanding coverage to those who can’t afford it.”

Neel Kashkari (R), who led the bank bailout during the Bush administration, announced his bid to unseat California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), the Sacramento Bee reports.

“His platform could appeal to many moderate Republicans, but Kashkari’s ability to raise sufficient money to broadcast it statewide is uncertain. Not only is Brown collecting millions of dollars from labor unions and other liberal allies, but his relatively moderate fiscal and environmental polices have endeared him to business interests on which GOP candidates could once rely. With the third-term governor heavily favored to win re-election, potential donors – many of them with business before the state – may not risk upsetting Brown by giving to any Republican in the race.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows a tight gubernatorial race between Charlie Crist (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R), 43% to 41%.

“John Podesta’s fingerprints are all over the White House agenda just three weeks into his tenure,” The Hill reports.

“The White House has focused on income inequality and executive action since President Obama’s new adviser came on at the beginning of the year — demonstrating a singlemindedness often missing during a rocky 2013.”

“Both issues were championed by Podesta as effective ways to score victories over congressional Republicans and motivate the Democratic base ahead of the midterm elections, where the Democratic majority in the Senate is in peril.”

Meanwhile, Politico notes the White House “is trying to dial down the partisan rhetoric on immigration — and it’s asking its allies to do the same.”

Gov. Chris Christie (R) “entered the year with a range of advantages in the emerging 2016 presidential race that combined to make him the early front-runner: a sweeping re-election win behind him, a national image as a no-nonsense problem-solver only growing, and a new platform for building a GOP donor network far beyond his native New Jersey,” Rick Klein reports.

“Just three weeks into 2014 – on the day of his second inaugural as governor — all of that is gone. With it has gone virtually all of the head start he enjoyed in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.”

A new Roanoke College poll in Virginia finds Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) solidly ahead of challenger Ed Gillespie (R), 50% to 21%.

Said pollster Harry Wilson: “Given that 75% don’t know enough about Gillespie to have an either favorable or unfavorable opinion of him, it is no surprise he trails Mark Warner so decisively. There is plenty of time for that to change as the state gets to know him. In politics, 10 months is an eternity.”