A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds President Obama’s job approval is a negative 40% to 57%, his lowest grade ever in the state.
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Donor Gave McDonnell $6,500 Watch
A prominent political donor purchased a $6,500 Rolex watch for Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) and the governor did not disclose it in his annual financial filings, the Washington Post reports.
“Williams’s gift came in August 2011 — about two weeks after he met with a top state health official to pitch the benefits of his company’s health products at a meeting arranged by first lady Maureen McDonnell… Williams bought the watch at the urging of Maureen McDonnell, who admired Williams’s own Rolex and suggested that he buy her a similar one she could give to her husband.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“In fairness, I doubt that will ever happen. I just cannot imagine — I’m just being honest — Congress ever
coming to terms with what they could agree on.”
— Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), quoted by the Huffington Post, about the likelihood of lawmakers coming together to restore the Voting Rights Act after today’s Supreme Court decision.
Markey Wins in Massachusetts
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) defeated Gabriel Gomez (R) in the special U.S. Senate election race in Massachusetts, the AP reports.
IRS Credit Cards Used for Wine, Pornography
An agency watchdog says poor oversight by the Internal Revenue Service “allowed workers to use agency credit cards to buy wine for an expensive luncheon, dorky swag for managers’ meetings and, for one employee, romance novels and diet pills,” the AP reports.
“Two IRS credit cards were used to buy online pornography, though the employees said the cards were stolen.”
Another Big Supreme Court Day
The Supreme Court will reconvene tomorrow at 10:00 AM
ET to issue the final three cases of the term, including the two
same-sex marriage cases.
Wonk Wire looks at the mix of possible rulings.
Weiner Leads in New York Mayoral Primary
A new NBC News/Marist Poll finds former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) jumped ahead of Christine Quinn (D) in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary by five points, 25% to 20%.
Last month, Weiner trailed Quinn by 5 points in a similar survey.
Pritzker Confirmed as Commerce Secretary
The Senate easily confirmed Penny Pritzker as the new Commerce Secretary, by a vote of 97 to 1, the Washington Post reports.
“Pritzerk’s nomination was initially thought to face some hurdles in the Senate, owing to the Hyatt hotel heiress’s battles with labor unions and some personal financial issues. In the end, though, nobody stepped up to vocally oppose her nomination.”
Texas Lawmaker in 13 Hour Speech to Block Abortion Bill
Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) “continued a dramatic filibuster Tuesday afternoon designed to block passage of a controversial and politically charged anti-abortion bill,” the Austin American Statesman reports.
Davis could succeed if she continues talking on the bill until midnight when the special legislative session ends.
“Leaders in the GOP-controlled Senate who want the bill to pass said at
mid-afternoon they were considering invoking a little-used rule to end
the filibuster with a vote, a move that other Republicans had earlier
vowed not to use. They planned to let Davis talk the day out — as long
as she stays within the rules for such speeches, with no leaning on her
desk or no pausing or straying off the subject.”
Texas Moves to Implement Voter ID Law
With the Supreme Court suspending the mechanism that forced Texas to get a federal OK before it can implement any election law change, state Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) said that “nothing now can stop the state from activating its controversial voter ID law,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
Said Abbott: “With today’s decision, the State’s voter ID law will take effect immediately. Redistricting maps passed by the Legislature may also take effect without approval from the federal government.”
Meanwhile, WLTB-TV reports Miississippi will move ahead with its voter ID law too.
Montana Senate Race is a Toss Up
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Montana finds that if the top tier candidates for each party get into the U.S. Senate race, it will be a toss up.
Brian Schweitzer (D) leads Steve Daines (R), 48% to 45%, but Marc Racicot (R) edges Schweitzer, 47% to 46%.
Obama Ties Keystone Decision to Climate Impact
President Obama said the Keystone XL pipeline “should be approved only if it doesn’t ‘exacerbate’ carbon pollution, as he unveiled a sweeping new plan to tackle climate change,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
In a closely watched speech, Obama “also said he would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to create carbon standards for both new and existing power plants, one of the largest sources of greenhouse-gas emissions in the U.S.”
Wonk Wire has more coverage.
Snowden’s Plan B
Daily Beast: “As the U.S. government presses Moscow to extradite former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, America’s most wanted leaker has a plan B. The former NSA systems administrator has already given encoded files containing an archive of the secrets he lifted from his old employer to several people. If anything happens to Snowden, the files will be unlocked.”
The AP reports Snowden is in the transit zone of a Moscow airport and Russian authorities have said he will not be extradited.
Is the GOP Too Extreme?
Harry Enten: “If the existence of more extreme Republican candidates was hurting Republicans anywhere, you’d expect it to be in the House given they are furthest to the right. It might not hurt them in seats won, but you’d at least expect it to make a dent in the national vote. Yet, Republicans in the House actually outperformed Mitt Romney winning a higher percentage of the vote… Since 1994, Republicans have won the national house vote seven times. The Democrats have only won it three times. Republicans have won it in presidential years such as 1996, 2000, and 1994. They won it in 2010 by a large enough margin that even with a presidential year turnout, they still would have taken the house vote by more than three points.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Yes, I did use illegal drugs, drink too much, lose my temper, go to
jail overnight a couple of times and get some probation. Anyone who is
really interested in the specifics can drill down if they want to, but
for me, now, what is important is that the suffering that I and those
around me endured was not wasted.”
— Jay Williams, quoted by the Des Moines Register, on filing papers for a U.S. Senate bid in Iowa.
Feds Ready Charges Against Corzine
Federal regulators are poised to sue former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) “over the collapse of MF Global and the brokerage firm’s misuse of customer money during its final days, a blowup that rattled Wall Street and cast a spotlight on Mr. Corzine, the former New Jersey governor who ran the firm until its bankruptcy in 2011,” the New York Times reports.
Supreme Court Kills Section of Voting Rights Act
In a major ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act saying it was unconstitutional.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the ruling, which was divided along the court’s usual ideological lines in a 5-4 vote.
Wonk Wire has more, including a round up opinion and analysis of the decision.
Perry’s Rehabilitation Tour Seen as Start of New Campaign
“The Rick Perry national rehabilitation tour has begun,” the Dallas Morning News observes.
“If the Texas governor’s highly publicized, job-poaching trips to California and Illinois weren’t evidence that Perry is setting the stage for another run for president, last week’s trip to New York offered a blueprint how he hopes to fix his damaged political image. The governor bungled his White House bid last year, capped by an on-air “oops” moment when he couldn’t remember three agencies he vowed to abolish. But Perry insiders say he believes that if voters give him a second chance, they’ll be surprised that he’s not the dense, tongue-tied Texas cowboy he seemed to be in 2012. For one thing, Perry hopes to be better prepared, won’t be recovering from debilitating back surgery and faces pretty low expectations – so if he can just avoid mistakes, voters might think he’s not so bad after all.”
