A new Quinnipiac poll in Colorado finds Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) just edging Tom Tancredo (R) in a possible race for governor, 42% to 41%.
Hickenlooper also barely leads Scott Gessler (R), 42% to 40%, and Greg Brophy (R), 43% to 37%.
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
The Paul-Rubio Bromance
Beth Reinhard:
“Rand Paul and Marco Rubio may go head-to-head in a fierce competition
for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. But a funny thing is
happening on the way to the White House: The would-be rivals have found
themselves in a light bromance, each needing to bask in the other’s
glow for their own political purposes. Rubio needs Paul’s help — and
political cover on the right — to get an immigration bill passed. Paul
needs Rubio’s help — particularly with the Hispanic community — to
soften his image in the center.”
No Consensus Emerged After Newtown Shootings
USA Today:
“In the six months since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings,
lawmakers in four key states have approved significant restrictions on
access to firearms. But elsewhere in the USA, the picture is far from
clear. A USA Today analysis of the 86 state gun laws passed since Dec.
14 shows that states have both tightened and loosened access to guns.
Lawmakers in many states used the spotlight the shootings created to
broaden both who can carry a gun and where they can carry it. States
including Colorado and Maryland tightened access to guns, Arkansas and
Mississippi eased restrictions, and many other states issued rules whose
impact could be debated either way.”
Improving Economy Not Helping Obama
Charlie Cook: “The good
news for President Obama and his administration is that all the
controversies swirling around the White House have not had a significant
impact on his job-approval ratings. The bad news is that, like so many
other second-term administrations, Obama’s may end up spending so much
of its last four years fighting fires and fending off congressional
inquiries that it gets little else done… if the administration is
bogged down in controversy, voters won’t be handing the president or
anyone else any laurels for the economic recovery. That’s what Obama,
his administration, and congressional Democrats facing voters next year
ought to worry about.”
Obama’s Leak Plumber
National Journal: “It was Ronald Machen’s office which issued the warrant request for the emails and phone records of James Rosen, the Fox News reporter caught up in that leak about North Korea’s nuclear program. It’s his office that got those Associated Press phone records. And there’s a chance an Edward Snowden trial, if there is one, could end up in Machen’s jurisdiction.”
Lawmaker Apologizes for Son’s Twitter Comments
Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) issued an apology after BuzzFeed posted selections from the Twitter feed of his 16-year-old son that included racist, homophobic and sexist remarks, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports.
Said Heck: “I am extremely disappointed in my son’s use of the offensive and inappropriate language on Twitter. That type of language has never been permitted in our home.”
Toronto Mayor Says He’s Not Concerned About Raids
Asked if he is worried that his name will surface after Toronto police executed pre-dawn raids in a major guns and drug trafficking probe, the Toronto Star reports Mayor Rob Ford told reporters: “They can investigate and you can do whatever you want… I have nothing to hide.”
However, police chief Bill Blair “refused to say whether Ford is connected to the evidence, what was seized or how it was obtained, or to comment on that fact that police raided the home of a shooting victim who appears in a photo with homicide victim Anthony Smith and the mayor.”
Quote of the Day
“I believe it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
— Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), quoted by the Huffington Post, on the secret NSA surveillance program recently made public.
Dewhurst Blames Messaging for Loss
Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) told WFAA-TV that messaging may be the reason why he’s not as popular with Tea Party voters as other conservative candidates in the state and that contributed to his Senate primary loss last year to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Said Dewhusrt: “We had a July 31 runoff in which we had a hard time finding our voters. We made some mistakes. I had a brand new team that didn’t get me. But my compliments to Senator Cruz. He ran a disciplined campaign. That was then. This is now.”
Court Upholds Christie Election Decision
The appellate division of New Jersey’s Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Chris Christie (R) acted properly when he decided to hold a special election for U.S. Senate on October 16th, PolitickerNJ reports.
Why Iran’s Presidential Election Matters
On Friday, Iranian voters will head to the polls to choose the successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, The Week reports.
Ultimate power rests with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei so it’s easy to dismiss the election as a sham. But, “despite outward appearances, the winner will actually be in a position to have an impact on Iran’s direction.”
Dean Changes His Look Again
BuzzFeed looks at former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s (D) unfortunate hair transformation.
Obama Faces Pressure on Gay Rights
“With the Supreme Court only days away from major rulings on same-sex marriage, President Obama faces the prospect of having to make his own difficult decisions about the definition of wedlock,” the Washington Post reports.
“Gay rights advocates are already pressing Obama to immediately broaden the federal government’s recognition of legally married same-sex couples if the court strikes down a ban on providing federal benefits to them. The question for Obama turns on whether the federal government should extend full benefits to gay couples living in states that don’t recognize their marriages.”
“Obama would face rare, concrete decisions on the politically combustible question of same-sex marriage — an area he has largely left to the purview of courts and state legislatures.”
Obama Will Unveil Climate Measures
President Obama has been telling Democratic party donors that he will unveil new climate proposals in July, Bloomberg reports.
While Obama has not detailed the specifics of his plan to the donors, Keystone XL pipeline opponents anticipate the package will include a plan from the Environmental Protection Agency to issue final rules to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from new power plants.
U.S. Will Send Arms to Syrian Rebels
The Obama administration, “concluding that the troops of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria have used chemical weapons against rebel forces in his country’s civil war, has decided to begin supplying the rebels for the first time with small arms and ammunition,” the New York Times reports.
“But even with the decision to supply lethal aid, the Obama
administration remains deeply divided about whether to take more
forceful action to try to quell the fighting, which has killed more than
90,000 people over more than two years. Many in the American government
believe that the military balance has tilted so far against the rebels
in recent months that American shipments of arms to select groups may be
too little, too late.”
The Week: A new American war?
Obama Cancels Safari Due to Security Cost
Extraordinary security provisions for President Obama trip to sub-Saharan Africa this month — “which will cost the government tens of millions of dollars” — are outlined in a confidential document obtained by the Washington Post.
“Any journey by the president, such as one scheduled next week for Northern Ireland and Germany, is an immense and costly logistical challenge. But the trip to Africa is complicated by a confluence of factors that could make it one of the most expensive of Obama’s tenure, according to people familiar with the planning.”
“The president and first lady had also planned to take a Tanzanian safari as part of the trip, which would have required the president’s special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-caliber rounds that could neutralize cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat… But the White House canceled the safari Wednesday after inquiries from The Post about the trip’s purpose and expense.”
Palin Signs Up with Fox News Again
Sarah Palin is rejoining Fox News, the Washington Post reports.
“The network said Thursday that the former Republican vice presidential candidate has signed on as a contributor to Fox and the Fox Business Network. Her first appearance is scheduled for Monday on the ‘Fox & Friends’ morning show — on the same day CNN is premiering a morning show to great fanfare.”
Akinize
Thanks to Bill Lambrecht of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for the latest addition to the political dictionary: Akinize.
