The latest episode of the Political Wire podcast features ABC News political director Rick Klein on today’s elections and the changing political landscape.
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The Illinois General Assembly “narrowly approved a gay marriage bill, clearing the way for Illinois to become the 15th state to legalize same-sex unions,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“The bill got 61 votes in the House, one more than the bare minimum needed to send the measure back to the Senate, which quickly signed off. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he would sign the bill into law should it reach his desk.”
“Amid the ongoing war within the GOP, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is signaling a more aggressive approach in trying to get its favored candidates through contentious primaries in 2014,” NBC News reports.
“The approach is a switch from previous cycles, when the NRSC has stayed out of open contested primaries. A number of hard-line conservative candidates won primaries in 2010 and 2012 but went on to lose general elections. And this time, the GOP is facing several potentially messy primary fights — and again staring down third-party groups that are working to elect more conservative or Tea Party-backed candidates instead.”
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) told CNN that Mitt Romney called him immediately when news broke that someone had leaked details about the 2012 vice presidential vetting process to the authors of Double Down.
Said Christie: “Mitt called me right away, and I could tell he was really embarrassed and outraged about it… It’s very disappointing. I think it’s a complete violation of trust of me and the spirit within which I entered that process.”
The latest Gallup tracking poll has President Obama’s approval rating dipping to 39% with 53% disapproving.
Wonk Wire points out why it is misleading to say that the United States is “$16 trillion in the hole.”
Roll Call: “The midterm elections are one year away, but it’s already clear that days are numbered for some endangered House members. The reasons vary, from scandal to primary problems, strong opponents or the changing politics of individual districts.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), “drawn and clearly shaken” by plagiarism charges, “offered a mix of contrition and defiance,” the New York Times reports.
Said Paul: “What we are going to do from here forward, if it will make people leave me the hell alone, is we’re going to do them like college papers. We’re going to try to put out footnotes. We’re going to have them available. If people want to request the footnoted version, we’re going to have it available.”
Paul also “attributed some of the sloppiness to the hectic life of a senator in high demand.”
The White House released a video of President Obama calling to congratulate Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell for winning the World Series.
Harry Enten: “There are many reasons to think that election night 2013 may not be the most exciting of affairs. Even the historic election of the first white mayor in Detroit in 40 years is almost a foregone conclusion, with Democrat Mike Duggan up by 25 points. Yet there are also a few reasons that you should pay attention. These three races may not be close, but all can offer lessons.”
Polls close at 7 pm in Virginia, 8 pm in New Jersey and 9 pm in New York City.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted that he smoked crack cocaine about a year ago, the Toronto Star reports.
Said Ford: “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine… I don’t even remember. Probably in one of my drunken stupors.”
Ford’s press conference is a must-see political moment.
Louisiana paid to provide $1.9 million in health care for almost 2,000 Medicaid recipients who were already dead, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Despite a poll yesterday showing Greg Abbott (R) leading Wendy Davis (D) in the Texas gubernatorial race by just 6 points, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds Abbott ahead by 15 points, 50% to 35%.
“I’m working on my acceptance speech right now.”
— New York City mayoral candidate Joe Lhota (R) when asked by Politicker if he’s dismayed by being down over 40 points in the public polls.
A top aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), “who has been dealing with a series of plagiarism allegations in recent days, acknowledged Tuesday that Paul’s staff in some cases failed to properly attribute and quote content pulled from other sources,” the Washington Post reports.
A recent ABC News/Fusion poll finds “vast differences among groups in trust in government, immigration policy and beyond, including basic views on issues such as the role of religion and the value of diversity in politics, treatment of women in the workplace and the opportunities afforded to minorities in society more broadly.”
Key finding: “Forty-three percent of Americans say it would be a good thing if more women were elected to Congress – but the range here is from six in 10 Democrats and liberals alike to just 26 percent of conservatives and 23 percent of Republicans. Instead two-thirds or more in these latter two groups say it makes no difference to them.”
Amanda Marcotte: “If Republicans can at least scatter a few more women in brightly colored suits among the ‘grey-faced men with $2 haircuts’ (thank you, Tina Fey), they will have to make liberals work a little harder and use more words to explain why the policies [ie, attacks on women’s rights] are misogynist. Right now, all liberals need to do is show some pictures and point.”
Mother Jones: “The GOP has gleefully jumped on media reports about Americans having their health insurance plans nixed because of Obamacare… But how many Americans’ health plans would receive some form of cancelation notice if GOP hard-liners got their wish and repealed Obamacare? Probably at least 137 million.”
Patricia Murphy: “If Gov. Chris Christie wins reelection Tuesday by even a fraction of the margin predicted by New Jersey pollsters, he’ll owe his easy victory to one group in particular–national Democrats, who all but ignored his race against Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono.”
“The calculation was two-fold, they said. First, the money required just to land a punch on Christie in the pricey New York and Philadelphia media markets could fund an entire campaign somewhere or sometime else when a Democrat had a chance of winning… Second, Democrats firmly believe that no matter how strong Christie looks on Election Day 2013 in New Jersey, the Republican nominating gauntlet will eat his 2016 presidential candidacy alive before he ever gets a chance to face off against a Democrat in a general election.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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