National Journal: “Beating up on Obamacare is the easy part. But eventually, many
Republicans acknowledge, the website will be fixed, new enrollees will
spike, cancellation letters will cease, and the sting of the Affordable
Care Act’s ugly implementation will fade. At some point, Republicans
will have to address the one Democratic rebuttal that cuts deepest: What
is the Republican alternative?”
Daines Launches Senate Bid in Montana
Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT), “ending months of speculation about when and if he would jump into Montana’s potentially pivotal U.S. Senate race, officially launched his campaign Wednesday, saying it’s time for Republicans to take control of the Senate,” the Billings Gazette reports.
Immigration Reform Advocates Target 9 Republicans
“With a year to go until the midterm elections, immigration reform advocates hoping to jump-start debate on Capitol Hill are planning to target a handful of Republican lawmakers most likely to suffer political consequences next year if Congress fails to act on immigration reform,” the Washington Post reports.
“The campaign will target Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Gary Miller (R-CA), Scott Tipton (R-CO), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Steve Pearce (R-NM) and Joe Heck (R-NV). They represent districts with sizable Latino voting populations where President Obama won or performed well last year. They also have publicly voiced support for revamping the nation’s immigration laws.”
Stopping the Filibuster Madness
Norm Ornstein:
“If the other two D.C. Circuit nominees are filibustered and blocked, I
would support Harry Reid’s move to change the rules now, to move from a
60-vote requirement to stop debate and vote to a 40-vote requirement to
continue debate. The argument that if he does so, Republicans will do
the same thing when they take the White House and Senate is a bad one:
Can anyone doubt that McConnell would blow up the filibuster rule in a
nanosecond if he had the ability to fill all courts with radical
conservatives like Janice Rogers Brown for decades to come? I hope it
does not come to this–and that the problem solvers in the Senate keep
their titles, preserve their institution, and stop the filibuster
madness.”
Carter Will Challenge Deal for Georgia Governor
Georgia state Sen. Jason Carter (D) will challenge Gov. Nathan Deal (R)
next year “in a move that catapults the gubernatorial contest into the
national spotlight and tests whether Georgia’s changing
demographics can loosen the Republican Party’s 12-year grip on the
state’s highest office,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
“Carter’s decision…is another step along the
trail forged by his famous grandfather Jimmy Carter, who was elected to
the state Senate and then the Governor’s Mansion before winning the
presidency.”
Still Waiting for Next Virginia Attorney General
Washington Post:
“Virginians may be in for a long wait, possibly into December, to learn
who will become their next attorney general, the official who serves as
the commonwealth’s top lawyer in such a prominent office that it has
become a springboard to the governor’s mansion.”
GOP Establishment Seeks to Neutralize Tea Party
“Leaders of the Republican establishment, alarmed by the emergence of far-right and often unpredictable Tea Party candidates, are pushing their party to rethink how it chooses nominees and advocating changes they say would result in the selection of less extreme contenders,” the New York Times reports.
“The push comes as the national Republican Party is grappling with vexing divisions over its identity and image, and mainstream leaders complain that more ideologically-driven conservatives are damaging the party with tactics like the government shutdown.”
Obama Defends Health Care Law
President Obama “strongly defended his signature health care law on Wednesday in the largest state that has refused to participate, as rattled Senate Democrats called for changing or delaying key parts of the new health coverage,” the New York Times reports.
“Against a backdrop of closer-than-expected election results in Virginia that some attributed to opposition to the health law, Mr. Obama again expressed regret for the troubles at the federal website that have prevented many people from enrolling for insurance. But he said the Texas government — by refusing to take federal funds and expand Medicaid eligibility — had left more than a million people uninsured. He promised to get problems with the health program fixed.”
Roll Call: “Obama heard an earful at the White House Wednesday from Senate Democrats running for reelection next year and worried about the Affordable Care Act’s rocky rollout.”
Coble May Retire
Longtime Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) will announce his future political plans at a news conference Thursday in Greensboro, N.C., Roll Call reports.
“Coble’s office declined to give any more details on the announcement — the 15-term Republican has long been the target of retirement speculation.”
Biden Congratulates Wrong Man in Boston Mayoral Race
After Marty Walsh won the Boston mayoral race last night, Vice President Joe Biden tried to call him with congratulations. But the Cape Code Times reports Biden called political consultant and former Sen. Ted Kennedy staffer Marty Walsh instead of the candidate who won.
Said the non-mayor elect: “We’ve had this for the past 20 years happening
back and forth. Marty tells a funny story from 2006 when Kennedy thanked
me from the stage and his mother thought it was for him.”
Revenge of the RINOs
John Avlon: “On Tuesday night, Christie went a long way toward establishing himself as the Republican Bill Clinton, a charismatic candidate able to re-center his party and reach out beyond the base even in traditionally hostile territory. Hard-core conservatives might call him a RINO — a Republican in Name Only — but there’s another name for it. A winner.”
Cornyn Vulnerable to Primary Challenge
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Texas finds Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) “is in grave danger of losing a primary next year if a serious campaign is run against him.”
Key findings: “Cornyn’s approval with Republican primary voters is only 46%, with 33% of voters disapproving of him. And 49% say they would like their candidate next year to be someone more conservative, compared to only 33% who say they support Cornyn.”
Obamacare Sign Ups are Very Low
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged that the initial enrollment numbers through the new healthcare exchanges will be “quite low,” The Hill reports.
Said Sebelius: “I’m hoping that with the site improvement we’ll see more robust numbers, but until the site is really improved … we’re going to have a struggle getting significant numbers to sign up.”
Something for Everyone in Election Results
Stu Rothenberg: “Democrats can look at Virginia and conclude that Republican ‘extremism on social issues like abortion, contraception and guns, combined with the deep divisions that appeared in the Alabama 1st District GOP primary results, continue to offer them opportunities for 2014 and virtually guarantee victory in 2016.”
“Republicans can look at the tightness of the Virginia contest and conclude that the unpopularity of Obamacare strengthens their hand for 2014 and will be an albatross around the neck of the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.”
“Pragmatic conservative Republicans can point to Bradley Byrne’s victory in Alabama and Chris Christie’s blow-out in New Jersey as evidence that the tea party wing of the GOP has met its match and “establishment” candidates have greater electability. And tea party conservatives can point to Alabama’s primary results to prove that the establishment will do whatever it can to deny grass-roots conservatives the victories that they deserve — and conclude that fighting just a little harder is all that it will take to defeat the establishment eventually.”
Breakout
Just published: Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle That Will Decide America’s Fate by Newt Gingrich.
On Wonk Wire
Bonus Quote of the Day
“In politics, when you have to eat shit, you don’t nibble.”
— Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, quoted by CBS News, saying that President Obama “would be wise to admit his like-your-plan-keep-your-plan dodge was a mistake and apologize immediately and conspicuously.”
How to Tell if Your Mayor is Smoking Crack
Jimmy Kimmel explains with a useful video.
