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Judge Strikes Down Utah Gay Marriage Ban

December 20, 2013 at 4:34 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A federal judge in Utah “struck down the
state’s ban on same-sex marriage, saying the law violates the U.S.
Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Wrote U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby: “The state’s current laws deny its gay and
lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing,
demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason. Accordingly, the
court finds that these laws are unconstitutional.”

Idaho to Sell Furnishings from Governor’s Mansion

December 20, 2013 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Since Idaho’s recent governors have refused to live in the governor’s mansion, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports the legislature is looking to sell the home’s furnishings.

Canada Court Strikes Down Prostitution Laws

December 20, 2013 at 10:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down as unconstitutional the entire scheme of criminal laws against the buying and selling of sex by prostitutes, saying it endangers the lives and security of vulnerable sex workers,” the Toronto Star reports.

“However, the country’s top court has given Parliament a one-year grace period to redraft a legislative scheme that could pass constitutional muster.”

Sharp Partisan Divide Over Filibuster Rules

December 20, 2013 at 10:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new National Journal poll found that 59% of Democrats said they agreed with Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) move last month “to gut the ability of the minority party stall presidential nominees. Republicans strongly disagreed. Only 34% said the decision to allow nominees to be confirmed with only 51 votes was the right decision; 60% thought it was the wrong one.”

Six Californias

December 20, 2013 at 9:48 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Technology investor Tim Draper tells Tech Crunch he will file a ballot initiative to split California into six separate states.

Said Draper: “It is about time California was properly represented with Senators in Washington. Now our number of Senators per person will be about average.”

“Getting such a measure on California’s wacky ballot will be no easy task. Attempts to get initiatives on the state ballot can cost millions of dollars, and often fail. That said, California has a long secessionist history, and there are a number of folks who want to split the West Coast into smaller territories.”

However, Rick Hasen says it can’t be done through a ballot initiative.

Demise of the Blue Dogs

December 20, 2013 at 9:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Jim Matheson’s (D-UT) retirement “continues the decline of two overlapping Democratic groups: Blue Dogs and Democrats who opposed Nancy Pelosi’s bid to continue leading their caucus after the electoral shellacking of 2010,” National Journal reports.

“There are just 15 Blue Dog Democrats in the House now, down from 26 in the previous Congress and 54 in the Congress before that. Meanwhile, 19 Democrats publicly opposed Pelosi for speaker on the House floor in January 2011, and Matheson will become the 11th to leave the House at the end of his term.”

Congress Has Lowest Output Since 1947

December 20, 2013 at 9:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

National Journal: “Congress will close the year with 58 public bills (the congressional term for measures with broad impact) enacted into law, assuming that President Obama signs the budget deal as promised. They may add a few to that in the last few days of the year. But it won’t change substantially.”

“That’s the lowest one-year output since at least 1947, and only the tiniest fraction of the 6,366 bills introduced by lawmakers, according to House and Senate records.”

Democrats Have Little Chance to Take the House

December 20, 2013 at 8:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Sides says his forecast shows Democrats have just a 1% chance to win control of the House of Representatives next year.

“This is a testament to the fact that current conditions in the country, and the presence of so many Republican incumbents, make it hard for the Democrats to pick up many seats. In order for that forecast to change measurably in the Democrats’ favor, the economy needs to grow more rapidly or President Obama needs to become more popular, or both. A few more Republican retirements and strong Democratic challengers wouldn’t hurt, either.”

Sides discussed his forecast with us on the Political Wire podcast.

Why Obama Is Not Like Bush

December 20, 2013 at 8:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Chait: “The conventional wisdom – propounded by many of the same pundits now equating Obama with Bush – held that Obama’s hardball tactics would backfire. Obama needed to negotiate over the debt ceiling, and didn’t dare change the Senate’s rules… To fail to placate conservatives would only enrage them more. This analysis turned out to have it backward. Congress managed to pass a budget for the first time in three years precisely because Obama
defeated the GOP’s extortion tactics, forcing Republicans to actually trade policy concessions rather than demand a ransom.”

“The prospects for Obama’s second term remain constricted. Not many deals beckon in Congress. The Obamacare rollout was surely a political disaster, but the administration has three more years to get the law up and running. By the end of 2005, George W. Bush had seen the promise of his presidency collapse from justifiably lofty heights. At the end of 2013, Obama stands at just about the same place he began his term.”

Podesta’s Push for Executive Action Raises Stakes

December 20, 2013 at 8:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “When the Republican victory in the 2010 midterm election raised the prospect of political gridlock, John Podesta was ready with an answer: The president should bypass Congress and wield the executive powers of his office.”

“Now, Podesta’s appointment as counselor to Obama adds a strong promoter of that strategy to the president’s inner circle as Republicans stand in the way of the White House agenda. The activist vision… could play out across the economy, encompassing matters such as greenhouse gas emission standards for power plants, food safety and border enforcement.”

Messina Not Interested in Senate Appointment

December 20, 2013 at 7:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina said that he is not considering an appointment in the U.S. Senate to replace departing Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), The Hill reports.

“The Montanan was said by sources to be influential in Obama’s decision to nominate Baucus as envoy to China. Speculation on Gov. Steve Bullock’s appointment centered on Lt. Gov. John Walsh, who is running to succeed Baucus.”

Wall Street Journal: Do appointees often win Senate races?

Brown Says Move to New Hampshire is Personal

December 20, 2013 at 6:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) told WMUR that his move to New Hampshire was “strictly personal” and said he had “nothing to announce with regard to my future political plans.”

Said Brown: “Once we get settled, we will do what many other people have done upon moving into New Hampshire. We will register to vote, get new licenses and enjoy the fact that there is no income or sales tax in New Hampshire.”

Cochran Leads in Mississippi Primary

December 20, 2013 at 6:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Despite a poll yesterday showing Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) in a dead heat with primary challenger Chris McDaniel (R), a new Harper Polling survey shows Cochran comfortably ahead, 54% to 31%.

White House Defense of NSA Spying May Be Unraveling

December 20, 2013 at 6:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “From the moment the government’s massive database of citizens’ call records was exposed this year, U.S. officials have clung to two main lines of defense: The secret surveillance program was constitutional and critical to keeping the nation safe. But six months into the controversy triggered by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the viability of those claims is no longer clear.”

“In a three-day span, those rationales were upended by a federal judge who declared that the program was probably unconstitutional and the release of a report by a White House panel utterly unconvinced that stockpiling such data had played any meaningful role in preventing terrorist attacks.”

Daily Beast: “Obama told his blue-ribbon panel on reforming the government’s domestic spying program that he didn’t want them to pull their punches. He got what he asked for and a good bit more.”

Putin Pardons Political Rival

December 20, 2013 at 6:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Vladimir Putin issued a decree “to free Russia’s most famous prisoner, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive of Yukos Oil whose arrest and imprisonment 10 years ago punctuated an authoritarian turn in Russia’s modern history,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Putin, who commands singular political authority here, now appears to have the confidence to risk freeing a man who even in prison has persisted as one of his harshest political critics and who still has the will and financial resources to challenge not only the seizure of his company’s assets but Mr. Putin’s power.”

No Widespread Sexual Misconduct in Secret Service

December 20, 2013 at 6:13 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A long-awaited report analyzing the male-dominated culture of the U.S. Secret Service has concluded that the elite law enforcement agency does not have a widespread problem with its employees engaging in sexual misconduct while on official business,” the Washington Post reports.

Radel Exits Rehab

December 19, 2013 at 8:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) “has left rehab and is ready to return to Capitol Hill, the Florida Republican announced in a news conference in his district office on Thursday night,” Roll Call reports.

“He didn’t, however, divulge whether he was prepared to announce whether he would seek re-election for a second term.”

Miami Herald: “While he declined to say whether he would run for re-election, he gave what amounted to a campaign speech, vigorously defending his legislative record and repeatedly addressing TV viewers.”

[Read more…]

Fiscal Showdown Watch

December 19, 2013 at 8:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wonk Wire: U.S. Could Face Debt Crisis in Late February