“A Russian lawmaker caused a diplomatic stir Tuesday by briefly tweeting — then deleting — news that NSA leaker Edward Snowden had accepted Venezuela’s offer of asylum,” USA Today reports.
Too Much Focus on 2016
Charlie Cook
is tired of speculation about the 2016 presidential race.
“Far more immediately important (and less
hypothetical) is what will happen in next year’s midterm elections. Even
though those elections are just over 16 months away, we still don’t
know whether Republicans will be playing defense as they were last year,
when they had profound problems with minority, young, women, and
self-described moderate voters. And, conversely, we don’t know if
Democrats, as the party in the White House, will be on defense, as is
usually the case during second terms and in so-called six-year-itch
elections, halfway through a party’s second term in office. The
potential for the Affordable Care Act to become radioactive again, as it
was in 2009 and 2010, makes this scenario sound less theoretical and
more plausible.”
Comparing Weiner and Spitzer
Frank Bruni: “Eliot Spitzer doesn’t have a quarter of the gall that Anthony Weiner does. He doesn’t have an eighth of it. Out of office for more than five years, he isn’t asking for a restoration of his prior glory. He isn’t even asking for a particularly sexy job. Comptroller of New York City? Most voters don’t know what that is or even if it’s spelled correctly. It doesn’t come with a mansion. It’s not a ticket to parades. It’s drudgery and decimal points. Audit till you drop.”
“Weiner, meantime, hadn’t been gone from Congress for even two years when he announced his candidacy for mayor of the city, a job exponentially more influential than the one that he’d never done especially well in the first place. He’s angling for a gigantic promotion. In the narrative he’s constructed, his mortification has made him a new man, so we’re supposed to give him an extra measure of our trust and hand him the reins of the most important and most complicated city in the country. I know we like our mayors brash, but we needn’t accept delusional in the bargain.”
John Avlon: “It must be said that Spitzer is smarter than Weiner, at least in terms of his target selection. Weiner could not help himself–he had to run for the highest office in his land, City Hall. As I’ve argued before, a far smarter if uncharacteristically modest move for Weiner would have been to run for a secondary citywide office, such as public advocate or comptroller. Pay your penance while demonstrating a commitment to public service. Work hard, keep your head down, and four to eight years later, electoral redemption would have been well earned. That is now Spitzer’s game plan.”
Influential Pundits Blast Immigration Proposal
Bill Kristol and Rich Lowry on the immigration reform bill that passed the Senate: “The bill’s first fatal deficiency is that it doesn’t solve the illegal-immigration problem. The enforcement provisions are riddled with exceptions, loopholes, and waivers.”
“According to the CBO analysis of the bill, it will reduce illegal immigration by as little as a third or by half at most. By one estimate, this means there will be about 7.5 million illegal immigrants here in ten years. And this is under the implausible assumption that the Obama administration would administer the law as written.”
First Read: “While it’s important never to overestimate the opinions from the conservative or liberal intelligentsia, this could have some sway with House Republicans sitting on the fence. Bottom line: They provide some establishment cover.”
Did Spitzer Tear Up?
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) appeared on Morning Joe for a fascinating interview about his political comeback attempt.
But as Dylan Byers notes, there’s been some controversy over whether he actually teared up when discussing the pain he’s experienced since a prostitution scandal forced him from office.
Paul Aide Has History of Neo-Confederate Sympathies
A close aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) who co-wrote the senator’s 2011 book “spent years working as a pro-secessionist radio pundit and neo-Confederate activist, raising questions about whether Paul will be able to transcend the same fringe-figure associations that dogged his father’s political career,” the Washington Free Beacon reports.
The Copycat Rule
First Read: “But if we learned one thing after the Bork judicial fight in the 1980s, it’s that political parties copycat each other. And if Republicans are trying to stop Democratic laws from being implemented or preventing executive-branch appointees from being confirmed, then you can bet that Democrats will return the favor the next time there’s a GOP president. This is a slippery slope fraught with unintended consequences. In fact, we already saw Democrats in the minority on the state level trying to thwart laws that were being passed and signed into law by Republican governors and Republican-controlled legislatures. This “any means necessary” style of politicizing legislating and governing is only helping to add to the public’s distrust and cynicism toward government — on all levels.”
Perry Sets Sights on 2016 Bid
“Let the Texas-size political shake-up begin. With Rick Perry stepping
aside after more than a decade as governor, a host of statewide
candidates can finally try to move up. And the governor freed himself to
focus on another possible run for president.” the Dallas Morning-News reports.
Tom DeFrank:
“Rick Perry is stepping down as the longest-serving governor in Texas
history to clear the decks for a 2016 presidential campaign, according
to several well-placed Republican sources. They said Perry is stepping
down to make sure his declining popularity among Texas Republicans won’t
complicate his Oval Office ambitions.
Mark Barabak:
“Although leaving office in January 2015 could diminish his fundraising
capacity, it would also allow Perry more preparation time than he took
in the lead-up to his gaffe-filled 2012 campaign, the only election loss
of his more than three-decade-long political career.”
Quote of the Day
“Why are you late? Were you with a hooker?”
— An unidentified man, quoted by the New York Daily News, at Eliot Spitzer’s (D) first campaign appearance for New York City Comptroller.
Obamacare Implementation Not Working as Planned
National Journal reports the White House has known for months that it will not be able to implement the massive health care reform law as designed.
“The struggles with technology and administrative complexity have not come as a recent surprise to administration officials; they’ve been negotiating them for months already. By eliminating non-essential tasks, they may be violating the letter of the health reform law, with its rigorous timetables and multiple requirements, but they may be more likely to get the core functions right. And whatever the bad politics of the recent announcements, a failure of crucial systems next year would be much worse for the president and Democrats running in 2014.”
Wonk Wire: Is Obamacare unraveling?
Why Sex-Scarred Pols Keep Coming Back
Politico: “Another week and there goes another fallen officeholder trying to claw his way back from tabloid purgatory–another chance for some people to marvel about the power of forgiveness and redemption, and other people to marvel about the power of egomania and pure chutzpah.”
“It is one more occasion, in other words, for the vast majority of people who would stay crouched in a hole for years if they ever endured humiliation and disgrace of the sort Eliot Spitzer brought down on himself to wonder: What makes these guys tick?”
Haley Says She Was Abused as a Child
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) “said she was physically abused as a girl by a child-care provider, offering a rare, personal disclosure that she said was meant to underscore the challenge any community faces in protecting its children,” the Columbia State reports.
Said Haley: “It doesn’t matter your background, it doesn’t matter your education, it doesn’t matter the wealth of your family. Every child is subject to child abuse.”
Booker Cruising Ahead of Senate Special Election
A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Cory Booker (D) tops the magic 50% mark in both the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the general election.
In a Democratic primary, Booker has 52%, followed by Rep. Frank Pallone (D) at 10%, Rep. Rush Holt (D) at 8% and Sheila Oliver (D) at 3%.
In a possible general election matchup, Booker beats Steve Lonegan (R) 53% to 30%.
Branstad Staffs Up for Re-Election
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s (R) campaign committee announced it has hired four campaign staffers to strategize for his re-election in 2014, the Des Moines Register reports.
Said Branstad: “Over the coming weeks and months, you will hear from our campaign team as they begin voter contact, outreach and community recruitment in a way no other Republican in Iowa has done before.”
“The campaign committee said the staffers will begin work now even though the governor does not plan to announce his intentions until next year.”
Texas Republicans Push Ahead with Abortion Legislation
“As sweeping abortion regulations continued to speed toward passage in the Texas Legislature, thousands of people on both sides of the debate flooded the Capitol again Monday for competing rallies and for the second special session’s final public hearing on abortion-related legislation,” the Austin American Statesman reports.
“Long lines began forming hours before the 10 a.m. Senate committee hearing, with 475 people registering to speak — the equivalent of 16 hours of testimony at two minutes per speaker — with all due to be heard on Senate Bill 1, provided they remained late into the night.”
McDonnell Repays $2,400 for Mansion Supplies
“As legal and public pressure mounts over the use of Executive Mansion resources by Virginia’s first family, Gov. Bob McDonnell late last week reimbursed the state for nearly $2,400 in food and household supplies used by his children,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
McCrory Skeptical About Abortion Bill
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) “voiced reservations about the abortion bill before the legislature – just days after his administration shuttered its second abortion clinic in a three-month period for safety reasons,” the Charlotte Observer reports.
McCrory “said the abortion question was far more complicated than partisans on either side have portrayed it, and that the bill that passed the Senate last week would require more study.”
Establishment Tries to Stop Spitzer
The surprise decision by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) “to run for citywide office startled and galvanized the city’s political establishment, which worried aloud about handing the TV-savvy and self-financed candidate a new megaphone,” the New York Times reports.
“In candid conversations, some of the leaders expressed acute regret over their failure to swiftly undercut the mayoral campaign of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, another scandal-scarred candidate for citywide office, and said they would not make the same mistake twice.”
“Behind the scenes, they began to lay out a blueprint for undermining Mr. Spitzer’s bid for comptroller, the city’s third-highest elected office, and for propping up his lesser-known Democratic rival, Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president.”
