A new Hickman Analytics poll in Kentucky finds Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) just ahead of challenger Alison Lundergran Grimes (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45%.
Braley Just Ahead in Iowa
A new Hickman Analytics poll in Iowa finds Bruce Braley (D) leading Joni Ernst (R) in a possible U.S. Senate match up, 44% to 40%.
In another match up, Braley leads 43% to 42%.
Bipartisan Support for Supreme Court Reforms
A new Democracy Corps poll “reveals that the Supreme Court has very lackluster job performance ratings and is viewed as overly political by Americans, who support a wide range of reforms for our nation’s highest court. Perhaps most remarkably, even in a time of intense political polarization there is broad cross-partisan consensus on these issues.”
Adelson Activates State-Level Political Network
Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson “is deploying a state-level political network he has been quietly developing over the past few years,” the Washington Post reports.
“Many of the beneficiaries of Adelson’s state donations are now siding with the billionaire as he seeks to outlaw a practice he views as a threat to the economic health of the casino industry on which he built a personal fortune.”
Cost of Internal Christie Probe Grows
Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) office “has been billed nearly $1.1 million by the law firm it hired to investigate the George Washington Bridge lane closures — and that was for less than three weeks of work in January,” the Bergen Record reports.
The final amount that taxpayers will ultimately pay will certainly be higher.
On Wonk Wire
Some great clicks over at Wonk Wire:
- Another Obamacare Attack Debunked
- Huntsman Calls on GOP to Face Facts About Climate Change
- The Red State Paradox: Which States Rely Most on Federal Funding?
- Americans Just Aren’t That Concerned About Climate Change
- Climate Change is Already Hurting Us
- Obamacare Model Shows Significant Drop in Mortality Rate
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Rehab is amazing.”
— Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, in an interview with the Toronto Sun.
Key Obama Advisers Set to Spill Insider Details
“Over the next month, two of President Obama’s closest first-term advisers will spill insider details on the administration’s handling of the early days of the Great Recession, the White House’s cautious response to the Syrian civil war and the genesis of clandestine talks with Iran,” the AP reports.
The back-to-back memoirs from Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner “will be the latest installments in what has become an often awkward Washington ritual: one-time confidants signing big book contracts to examine a presidency that is still ongoing and policy decisions that are still being implemented.”
Lynne Cheney Wants Daughter to Run Again
Lynne Cheney told USA Today that she hopes her daughter Liz makes another bid for public office.
Said Cheney: “I sure hope so. She is a great candidate and, you know, the family was going through some crises. It’s now evened out. She did exactly the right thing to turn her attention to some difficult situations, and she’ll do exactly the right thing, in my opinion, if she runs for office again. She’d be a terrific candidate and a terrific representative or senator for us.”
Another New York Lawmaker Arrested
New York City Councilman Ruben Wills (D) was arrested early this morning by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s (D) office, the New York Observer reports.
“The source declined to discuss the charges against the the men, but the Daily News reported in 2012 that Mr. Schneiderman’s office was investigating a $33,000 state grant that allegedly went missing after being doled out to a nonprofit linked to Mr. Wills, who will be arraigned in Queens criminal court later today.”
Clinton Attacks Gun Culture
Hillary Clinton delivered harsh criticism of gun culture in America and denounced the idea that “anybody can have a gun, anywhere, at any time,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
She noted that access to guns in the U.S. had grown “way out of balance.”
Said Clinton: “We’ve got to rein in what has become an almost article of faith that anybody can have a gun anywhere, anytime. And I don’t believe that is in the best interest of the vast majority of people.”
Shaheen Leads in New Hampshire
A new Hickman Analytics poll in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) leading Scott Brown (R) in their U.S. Senate race among likely voters, 49% to 43%.
Quote of the Day
Tillis Wants to ‘Divide and Conquer’ Those on Public Assistance
Just as Thom Tillis (R) was cruising to the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in North Carolina, Greg Sargent notes a video was uncovered which shows Tillis “appears to be a diehard 47 percenter.”
In the video, Tillis said we have to “divide and conquer” those on public assistance, by getting those who really need it — the sick — to turn on and look down at those who “choose to get into a condition that makes them dependent on the government.”
He added: “At some point, you’re on your own. We may end up taking care of those babies, but we’re not going to take care of you.”
Crist Says Racism Drove His Party Switch
Charlie Crist (D) told Fusion that a “big reason” why he left the Republican Party was because many in the GOP were hostile to President Obama due to his race.
Said Crist: “I couldn’t be consistent with myself and my core beliefs, and stay with a party that was so unfriendly toward the African-American president, I’ll just go there. I was a Republican and I saw the activists and what they were doing, it was intolerable to me.”
He added: “I am liberated as a Democrat, my true soul is able to be seen, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”
For really great insight into Crist as a politician, see our conversation with Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
Quirky Republican Survives Primary
Ben Jacobs: “Perhaps the quirkiest Republican in Congress won re-election Tuesday night. Incumbent Rep. Walter Jones fended off a primary challenge from a Taylor Griffin, a longtime GOP apparatchik, who worked for Jesse Helms and in the George W. Bush administration in his deep red district along North Carolina’s coast.”
White House Seeks New Way to Penetrate the Media
Washington Post: “When most Americans turn on their televisions at night, they expect their meteorologists to get the forecast right, or at least try. That level of trust is one reason President Obama and his staff spent hours Tuesday giving top weather forecasters the royal treatment — a briefing in the Roosevelt Room with multiple Cabinet secretaries and senior officials on a major new report on climate change, plus Rose Garden interviews with the president. It was the White House’s latest attempt to penetrate a polarized media climate where Americans increasingly read and view — consciously and unconsciously — material that matches their political beliefs.”
Aiken Holds Small Lead in North Carolina Primary
“The battle between Keith Crisco, a moderate, business-friendly Democrat, and former American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken came down to a very slim margin Tuesday night: As the vote-count neared completion, Aiken led by fewer than 400 votes,” the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
The winner will face U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC).
