Anthony Weiner released his first televised ad in the New York City mayor race.
His message: “I’ve waged a campaign focused like a laser beam on fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it.”
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The 2016 Campaign is Already Underway
Republicans are “already jockeying over what is expected to be a wide-open 2016 presidential race, barely nine months after the latest one concluded and more than two years before any party primaries would start,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Iowa, traditionally the first state to hold a presidential contest, often receives early visits from hopefuls, but even some veteran operatives are surprised by what is under way.”
Christie and Booker Share Many Key Donors
“Five dozen wealthy donors from Wall Street to Silicon Valley have placed their bets on both of New Jersey’s big political stars — Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker — this campaign season,” a Newark Star-Ledger review of state and federal records shows.
Can Christie Avoid the Giuliani Jinx?
Lloyd Green notes that Gov. Chris Christie (R) “is at the top of the 2016 Republican presidential scrum and, for the moment, he even leads Sen. Rand Paul in Live Free or Die New Hampshire. The governor of reliably Blue New Jersey and possessor of an outsize personality, he commands attention.”
“Yet, none of this guarantees Christie the nomination. Electability is not the same as nominability. He just needs to ask another Northeast Catholic executive who was also once deemed electable: former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Conceivably, Giuliani might have beaten Barack Obama; but he didn’t get past the primaries. Not. Even. Close.”
Reid Hints at Another Filibuster Fight
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says Democrats “are still focused on getting at least one more judge confirmed to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals — and hinted at more changes to Senate rules unless Republicans stop filibustering ‘literally everything,'” Roll Call reports.
Said Reid: “People don’t focus much on the D.C. Circuit. It is, some say, more important than even the Supreme Court.”
Most Find Weiner and Spitzer Embarrassing
A new Siena poll finds that although 16% of New Yorkers think the national attention from the Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer candidacies is not a big deal, 8% find it entertaining and 68% think it’s embarrassing.
Said pollster Steven Greenberg: “Spitzer is not viewed as unfavorably as he was right after he resigned as Governor,
however, he’s still viewed unfavorably by 59% of voters — including a majority of Democrats and New York City voters. While Spitzer’s unfavorable rating is down from the 79% who viewed him unfavorably in the aftermath of his resignation, Weiner has set a new all-time Siena College Poll record with 80% of voters viewing him unfavorably – including three-quarters of Democrats and New York City voters – compared to only 11% who have a favorable view of America’s most infamous tweeter.”
Cuomo Reverses Poll Drop Trend
A new Siena poll in New York finds that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is viewed favorably by 65% of voters and unfavorably by 30% — up from 58% to 35% in June.
Key finding: 55% say they are prepared to re-elect him while 35% would prefer someone else.
Said pollster Steven Greenberg: “With the Legislature out of town for the summer, Cuomo has reversed his downward polling trend from the first half of this year. His favorability rating is back in the mid-60s and his re-elect number is back in the mid 50s. More than two-thirds of voters, including majorities of Republicans and conservatives, say that Cuomo has been an effective governor in his first three years.”
Republican Anxiety Grows in Georgia
“Republicans are increasingly concerned about Georgia’s Senate race, where a crowded primary threatens to produce a flawed candidate who could put at risk a seat in a Republican-leaning state,” The Hill reports.
“Recent polling shows the two candidates Republicans are most anxious about — Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and Paul Broun (R-GA) — leading the pack. Whoever emerges from the clown-car primary, with seven candidates and counting, will face a candidate Democrats are high on in a state where shifting demographics benefit their party.”
Rodeo Clown Dresses as Obama
A rodeo clown dressed as President Obama at the Missouri State Fair, KMOX reports.
Show Me Progress: “Just prior to the start of the bull riding event, one of the clowns came out dressed in this. The announcer wanted to know if anyone would like to see Obama run down by a bull. The crowd went wild. He asked it again and again, louder each time, whipping the audience into a lather. One of the clowns ran up and started bobbling the lips on the mask and the people went crazy. Finally, a bull came close enough to him that he had to move, so he jumped up and ran away to the delight of the onlookers hooting and hollering from the stands.”
Biden to Headline Harkin’s Steak Fry
Vice President Joe Biden has accepted Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) invitation to attend his steak fry this year, the Des Moines Register reports.
“The annual steak fry is one of the largest Democratic Party events of the year in Iowa and has a long history of attracting top national political figures – especially presidential aspirants.”
New York Times: “Mr. Biden’s attendance is a sign, Democratic officials here say, that he wants Iowa caucus-goers to know he is very much considering another White House race.”
The Art of Battling Giants
Coming this fall: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell.
How Summers Prepared for Possible Fed Appointment
Wonk Wire highlights how Larry Summers has kept his options open for one last stint in public service while earnings millions in a series of part time jobs.
The First $100 Million Senate Race?
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) reelection bid may be the first Senate contest to crest the $100 million mark, the Washington Post reports.
“Races in recent years have come close to breaching the $100 million mark. The Massachusetts Senate race between Scott Brown (R) and Elizabeth Warren (D) carried an $82 million price tag, making it the most expensive contest in Senate history. (The massive spending in that race is all the more remarkable when you consider that neither Brown nor Warren had significant personal money to spend on it.) For more than a decade before the Massachusetts race, the 2000 New York Senate fight between Hillary Clinton (D) and Rick Lazio (R)held the record for spending at $70 million.”
Inhofe Has Been Laying Groundwork for Months
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) announced this week that he would run for re-election in 2014, but Political Moneyline notes “plans had already been underway for months. From April through June his committee spent a quarter of a million dollars gearing up his image and the campaign.”
Politico Killed the Post?
Ross Douthat says Politico did in the Washington Post and forced its sale to Jeff Bezo last week.
“I say this as someone who doesn’t particularly like the Politico style or the role it plays in our gilded capital, and who misses The Post as it was when I arrived in Washington. But nostalgia is for columnists, not publishers: Politico has claimed a big part of the audience that The Post needed in order to thrive in the world the Internet has made.”
Booker Took Annual Payouts from Law Firm
Cory Booker pocketed “confidential” annual payouts from his former law firm while serving as Newark mayor, the New York Post reports.
“Booker, the front-runner in New Jersey’s Senate race, received five checks from the Trenk DiPasquale law firm from 2007 until 2011. During that time, the firm raked in more than $2 million in fees from local agencies over which Booker has influence.”
Explained Booker: “This was a settlement buyout for my interest in the firm. I had an equity stake, and we had a negotiated settlement.”
Trump Would Spend ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Run for President
Donald Trump told Jon Karl of ABC News that he’d spend whatever money necessary if and when he decided to run for president in 2016.
KARL: If you were to run for president, how much would you be willing to spend?
TRUMP: If I made a decision, I’d spend a lot.
KARL: A modern presidential campaign would be half a billion dollars.
TRUMP: It could.
KARL: That much?
TRUMP: If I did it, I would spend whatever it took.
Immigration Reform Creates Odd Political Alliances
Los Angeles Times: “An unprecedented collection of political bedfellows has coalesced this year on the reform side of the immigration debate: liberal Latino organizations and Republican operatives, the Chamber of Commerce and labor unions, faith groups and high-tech companies. And… some left-leaning groups are financing Republican pro-immigration groups.”
“The result is a flood of money for advertising, lobbying and field organizing aimed at convincing Republicans in Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally, authorize more temporary work visas and increase security on the border with Mexico.”
