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Cuccinelli Backed Anti-Adultery Laws

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Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli (R) “once suggested that
society would benefit from enforcing anti-adultery laws,” Politico reports.

“Speaking to
Richmond’s Style Weekly magazine back in 2008, Cuccinelli defended laws
criminalizing extramarital sex, saying that such restrictions ‘ought to
stay on the books.’ “Frankly it wouldn’t hurt to enforce them more,”
Cuccinelli is quoted saying. The magazine paraphrased Cuccinelli drawing
a comparison to ‘perjury inasmuch as the occasional prosecution or two
would get people thinking twice.'”

Democratic Governors Push Party Left

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Beth Reinhard: “While Republican governors elected during the party’s
historic wave in 2010 have drawn criticism for their unabashedly
conservative agendas to restrict abortion, rein in labor unions and
slash state spending, a number of Democratic governors are just as
aggressively pushing liberal policies like gay marriage and gun control.
Emboldened by President Obama’s re-election, a younger and more diverse
electorate, and an increasing number of state governments under
one-party control, these Democratic governors are crusading on issues
the party steered clear of until recently. It’s happening not just in
solidly-Democratic states like New York, Maryland, Delaware and
Connecticut but also in more competitive battlegrounds like Colorado,
where new gun laws are fueling two recall elections and threats of
secession from some rural counties.”


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Quote of the Day

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“I would have taken back the pond scum comment.”

— Failed Massachusetts Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez (R), in an interview with WBUR, reflecting on his campaign against Ed Markey (D), adding “I let my emotions get the better of me.”

Snowden Allowed to Leave Airport

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Edward Snowden “has received documents allowing him to leave Moscow airport,” the BBC reports.

Meanwhile, an ABC News-Washington Post poll finds public attitudes have shifted against Snowden, “with more than half of Americans now supporting criminal charges against the former security contractor who’s disclosed details of surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency.”

The 7 Most Dysfunctional State Parties

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Roll Call: “Traditionally, state parties have been the meeting point between the national political organizations and the local ground game. But in recent cycles, many of them have become so dysfunctional that they are now irrelevant — or even worse, detrimental, to the national party’s efforts.”

Faith in Congress Hits New Low

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A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds the American public’s dissatisfaction with Washington has reached new heights.

A whopping 83% of Americans disapprove of Congress’ job, which is an all-time high in the survey. And 57% voters say they would vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress if they had such an option on their ballot ­– another all-time high.

Meanwhile, President Obama has seen his job-approval rating dip to its lowest level since August 2011, “when the debt-ceiling showdown wounded almost every Washington politician.”

Republicans Headed for Confrontation Over Spending

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Congressional Republicans “are moving to gut many of President Obama’s top priorities with the sharpest spending cuts in a generation and a new push to hold government financing hostage unless the president’s signature health care law is stripped of money this fall,” the New York Times reports.

“As Mr. Obama prepares to deliver a major economic address on Wednesday in Illinois, Republicans in Washington are delivering blow after blow to programs he will promote as vital to a more robust economic recovery and a firmer economic future — from spending on infrastructure and health care to beefing up regulatory agencies. While Mr. Obama would like to keep the economic conversation lofty, his adversaries in Congress are already fighting in the trenches.”

Roll Call: Shutdown blame begins anew.

Republicans Kick Off Their Own ’50 State Strategy’

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“After weaknesses in its ground game were badly exposed in 2012, the Republican National Committee is taking a page straight out of the Democratic playbook and launching an ambitious “50 state strategy” that will steer party resources and staffers to every corner of the country as it works to repair its voter contact effort before the next presidential election,” CNN reports.

Bevin Goes on Offensive Against McConnell

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Even before he officially enters the GOP Senate primary race, Matthew Bevin (R) fired off a press release accusing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “of misleading the public to avoid talking about his own record in the Senate,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

Said Bevin: “The 2014 U.S. Senate race has barely begun and already it’s the same old Mitch McConnell with nothing but smear tactics and misleading the public about his opponents.”

North Carolina GOP Pushes Sweeping Election Changes

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North Carolina lawmakers “are moving toward approving a sweeping set of changes to North Carolina’s election laws unveiled Tuesday, which would cut the number of early voting days, require voters to show government-issued photo IDs and eliminate several forms of voter registration,” the Charlotte Observer reports.

Republicans says they want to “restore integrity” to the voting process while critics says the bill “will make it harder for the elderly, poor, minorities and students to vote.”

Obama Turns Focus to the Economy

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President Obama begins today a series of speeches on the economy, the AP reports.

“The trio of speeches comes as Congress prepares to leave Washington next week for its monthlong August recess. These and other speeches planned for the coming weeks and months are designed to increase public pressure on lawmakers in hopes of avoiding showdowns over taxes and spending in the fall. The White House believes such stalemates will stunt the economy, which has added more than 200,000 jobs a month in the past six months. The new federal budget year begins Oct. 1 and the government will soon hit its borrowing limit.”

Kinky Friedman Considering Another Bid

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Humorist Kinky Friedman “doesn’t know if he’s ready to jump back into Texas politics. But the cigar-chewing humorist and musician — known for the black attire and cowboy hats he normally dons — said he may soon create an exploratory committee to help him decide whether to run for office again,” the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.

“And if so, for which one.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“Perhaps I’m surprised that more things didn’t come out sooner.”

— Anthony Weiner, at a press conference acknowledging sending additional lewd online messages.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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.

Praise for Political Wire

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— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

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— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

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