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Journalist’s Partner Detained at Airport

August 18, 2013 at 2:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Guardian: “The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London’s Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro.”

“David Miranda, who lives with Glenn Greenwald, was returning from a trip to Berlin when he was stopped by officers at 8.30am and informed that he was to be questioned under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The controversial law, which applies only at airports, ports and border areas, allows officers to stop, search, question and detain individuals.”

Greenwald calls the action a “failed attempt at intimidation.”

How Much Did Republican Convention Help Tampa?

August 18, 2013 at 2:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Tampa Bay Times: “Look for an economic impact report this week on the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. A prediction: The study funded by the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee will conclude that their convention, which did little to help Mitt Romney win the presidency, pumped many gazillions of dollars into the Tampa Bay economy.”

Majority in San Diego Want Filner Out

August 18, 2013 at 12:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new SurveyUSA poll finds that 81% of San Diego voters think Mayor Bob Filner (D) should resign and 72% say they would sign a recall petition if one is put before them.

San Diego Union Tribune: “Barring any last-minute
developments, Sunday is the day the clipboards get unleashed. People
hoping to recall San Diego Mayor Bob Filner can begin circulating their
petitions.”

Judge Tried to Frame Romantic Rival

August 18, 2013 at 10:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Even in southern West Virginia, where corruption is as much as a part of life as coal, people are shocked by allegations that a judge commandeered the legal system in a years-long attempt to frame a romantic rival for crimes he didn’t commit,” the AP reports.

New Frontier in Education

August 18, 2013 at 10:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wonk Wire: Online master’s degrees could transform higher education.

New Yorkers Divided on Bloomberg Legacy

August 18, 2013 at 10:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new New York Times poll finds that 52% of New Yorkers describe Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 12 years in office as “fair or poor,” while 46% call it “excellent or good.”

“When comparing him with past mayors, 38% rank Mr. Bloomberg as average — a bracing evaluation for a man who thinks of himself as anything but. Still, 21% say he is above average and 15% say he is one of the best.”

“Since he become mayor, 40% say the quality of life in the city has stayed the same, 35% think it has become better, and 23% find it has gotten worse.”

Quote of the Day

August 18, 2013 at 9:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“There’s room for people who believe in bigger government in our party.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in a Fox News interview, taking a swipe at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Will Jeb Bush Run in 2016?

August 18, 2013 at 9:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Frank Bruni: “I’m told by people in the know that while Bush is definitely mulling a candidacy, there’s only a 20 to 30 percent chance that he’ll press the button. Many factors play into that decision: his family’s privacy; the reality that he and Rubio, his onetime political mentee, can’t both run; the nascent political career of his son George P. Bush, who might be better served by a longer Bush lull.”

“AND then there’s the question that every presidential contender about to submit to a brutal and brutalizing process must ask: is a burning desire for the White House really present? The fabled fire in the belly? It certainly seems to rage inside Paul, Cruz, Christie. They’re infernos of untempered ambition.”

Christie Prepares for a Bigger Race

August 18, 2013 at 9:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “As Gov. Chris Christie heads for what is expected to be an easy re-election, he is also quietly building a sophisticated political operation that could become the basis for a national campaign. His advisers, while saying the governor is focused on New Jersey, are aiming to run up a huge margin against his Democratic opponent and position Mr. Christie as a formidable figure among Republicans ahead of the next presidential primary.”

“At the Republican National Committee summer meeting in Boston last week, Mr. Christie and his aides repeatedly made the case that his re-election effort in heavily Democratic New Jersey this fall would offer a model for Republicans in the years ahead. And despite their claims to be focused only on 2013, his aides have also signaled to Republicans that the governor, if re-elected as expected, plans to begin visiting other states immediately after November.”

7 Must-Follow Lawmakers on Twitter

August 18, 2013 at 7:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Roll Call finds the lawmakers “who show the most personality, which certainly creates heartburn for their press staffers but sometimes delivers amusing glimpses into their lives.”

Scott Brown Heads to Iowa

August 17, 2013 at 3:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) “is traveling to Iowa on Sunday to check out the big boar and the super bull at the Iowa State Fair – and to size up whether Iowans might take a liking to him,” the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Brown: “I’m going to be coming out more often to try to determine whether there’s an interest in my brand of leadership and Republicanism.”

What Republicans Didn’t Talk About

August 17, 2013 at 2:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

National Public Radio: “Here’s what the Republican National Committee members didn’t talk about at their summer meeting, but, rather, talked around: their existential need to broaden their base of support, and how so far their traditional base is not exactly embracing the idea.”

“Publicly, Priebus and others at the three-day meeting say the project, while a long-term endeavor, is on track… Privately, other Republicans are less sanguine — and already wondering if it will take another White House loss in 2016 for the party base to accept what they are already certain is demographic inevitability.”

Priebus Rebuilds the RNC

August 17, 2013 at 12:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

That Reince Priebus still heads the Republican National Committee is unusual, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“No national head of either party in the modern era has retained that seat after a loss in the presidential election. Some now expect him to keep the job through the 2016 election, which would make him the longest-serving GOP chairman in nearly 30 years.”

“The chairman has poured most of his energies into raising money — he said he spends five hours a day on donor calls — and into building out the party’s infrastructure, including an aggressive, state-by-state outreach to minority voters… The GOP ended June with $7 million more in cash than the Democrats had, the federal records show.”

Kerrey in Talks About State Department Post

August 17, 2013 at 12:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bob Kerrey is in talks to be the latest former senator to get a post at the State Department, Politico reports.

Said Kerrey: “I’ve had conversations with them about taking on a project.”

Kerrey wouldn’t discuss what the “project” would be, but stressed that the position wouldn’t be full-time.

Christie Vetoes Gun Ban He Proposed

August 17, 2013 at 10:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “refused to sign three controversial gun control measures sitting on his desk — including a version of a weapon ban that he had called for,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.

Christie altered two bills and sent them back to the legislature but “completely axed a bill that would ban the Barrett .50 caliber rifle(A3659), which is the most powerful weapon commonly available to civilians. Christie had called for a ban on future sales of the weapon in his own package of violent prevention measures outlined in April.”

In his veto message, Christie “said that his proposal to ban the weapon was more narrowly tailored than the bill the Legislature passed, which would have also required owners to give them up.”

Police Investigating Attempts to Retrieve Crack Video

August 17, 2013 at 10:21 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Toronto police are investigating attempts by associates of Mayor Rob Ford to retrieve the crack cocaine video, the Toronto Star reports.

Ford’s loyalists “were on a mission to obtain the video, which Ford was publicly saying did not exist. Two Star reporters who viewed the video have described an obviously impaired Mayor Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine and making homophobic and racist remarks in response to goading questions from a man not seen in the video.”

Who Will Win the Next Debt Ceiling Fight?

August 17, 2013 at 8:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wonk Wire has lessons from the last two showdowns in Congress.

RNC Boycott Would Extend to Spanish Language Channels

August 17, 2013 at 7:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A RNC spokesman told Politico that the party’s newly-passed boycott of NBC and CNN would also extend to their Spanish-language channels: Telemundo and CNN Español.

Said Sean Spicer: “My understanding is that they both would be excluded.”

“That leaves Univision, the country’s leading Spanish-language network, as the obvious go-to for any Republican primary debate targeted toward America’s rapidly growing Latino population, which the GOP is desperate to make inroads with in 2016.”