“The truth of the matter is, Barack knows it, I know, had the economy not collapsed around your ears, John, in the middle of literally, as things were moving, I think you probably would have won.”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by CNN, telling Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that he might have won the presidency if not for the economic collapse in 2008.
John Avlon points out “a disturbing trend of – conservative state legislators and even congressmen entertaining conspiracy theories that are creepy and unseemly coming from average citizen, but a sign of civic rot when they start getting parroted by elected officials.”
“Of course, craziness is a bipartisan issue, with Republicans frequently pointing to former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney as a Democratic example – but the right has been particularly prone to paranoia since Bush Derangement Syndrone on the left gave way to an epic case of Obama Derangement Syndrome from the other side.”
As Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) was considering Las Vegas attorney Jennifer Dorsey for a federal judgeship, two partners at her law firm made $150,000 in contributions to a political action committee associated with the Nevada senator, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports.
“While apparently legal, the donations were called ‘problematic’ by a legal expert, who said they could be perceived as attempting to buy a judicial appointment as Dorsey’s confirmation is pending before the Senate.”
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“Federal agents arrested a Mississippi martial arts instructor early Saturday morning after his home and a former business were searched as part of an investigation into ricin-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and two other public officials,” Reuters reports.
Prosecutors dropped charges against another Mississippi man earlier this week after a search of his home revealed no incriminating evidence.
Now available for pre-order: If Kennedy Lived: The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternate History by Jeff Greenfield.
The Week: “The NRA won round one, but proponents of tougher gun laws haven’t lost hope yet.”
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor told the Chicago Tribune she isn’t sure the high court should have taken the Bush v. Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election.
Said O’Connor: “It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue. Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye.'”
The case “stirred up the public” and “gave the court a less-than-perfect reputation.”
She added: “Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision. It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn’t done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day.”
“She was the one who set the stage for Adolf Hitler. She didn’t copy him, he copied her. Planned Parenthood — it’s unbelievable how evil they were in the early days.”
— Pat Robertson, on The 700 Club, saying Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was a model for Hitler.
After his comments critical of Rush Limbaugh were secretly taped by a University of Pennsylvania student, GOP strategist Frank Luntz told the Daily Pennsylvanian that “he would never return to speak after this incident, and would discourage others from speaking here.”
Said Luntz: “I can’t imagine a speaker coming to Penn and being so open. I can’t imagine a speaker coming to Penn and being so candid. Frankly, I think it’ll have a chilling effect on whether speakers do or don’t come. I wish it didn’t.”
He also added that he would not renew a scholarship in his father’s name for students to travel to Washington, D.C.
“Republicans are struggling to recruit strong Senate candidates in states that present the party’s best opportunities to reclaim the majority, a sign that the GOP’s post-2012 soul-searching may end up creeping into the midterm congressional elections,” the AP reports.
Former Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) told KSDK-TV he would not rule out making a political comeback despite sinking his U.S. Senate campaign last year after he uttered the now famous words, “legitimate rape.”
Said Akin: “I’m not going to try to get even with anybody. If you start to blame everyone else for something that happened you didn’t like, it will destroy you. It will eat you alive.”
He added: “Really what it goes back to is whether the Republican Party is going to be run by the insiders, or run by the grassroots organization. That’s a question still to be determined.”
Byron York notes Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) invited people to help improve the bipartisan immigration bill he introduced by making comments on his website.
“Rubio’s staff is reviewing each one — a wise move, given the emotions that the immigration issue can involve and the tendency of some people to say nasty things on the Internet. But even after screening for foul language and general content, the suggestions Rubio has so far received are remarkably negative. Actually, they are overwhelmingly, crushingly negative, criticizing a wide spectrum of issues included in the Gang of Eight bill. The commenters Rubio has invited to speak really, really, really don’t like what he has done.”
Wonk Wire: The real immigration debate is just getting started.
A Pakistani court has ordered a three-day house arrest on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over the murder of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto more than five years ago, Al Jazeera reports.
Tennessee state Rep. Andy Holt (R), who is sponsoring a bill that would ban long-term investigations of animal cruelty, compared Humane Society investigations to human trafficking of 17-year-old women and called the group’s methods “tape and rape” in an email, the Tennessean reports.
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli (R) received more gifts from dietary supplement company Star Scientific than he had previously reported, the Fredricksburg News reports.
“Cuccinelli revealed three trips and two vacations, spread over the past five years, that he says he forgot to list on his annual financial disclosure statements.”
Gawker: “Tomorrow evening, the cream of our nation’s mainstream media celebrities, political celebrities, and celebrity celebrities will put on tuxedos and evening gowns and gather in a ballroom in Washington, DC to mutually give one another handjobs, in a mostly metaphorical sense. This is because the most powerful elements of our nation’s DC press corps are all ‘on the same team’ as the people they cover (politicians) and the people they idolize (celebrities). This is called the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, and it is the single most revolting annual gathering of pseudojournalistic cocksuckery in all the land.”
Out next month: Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t by Robert G. Kaiser.
“An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works — and doesn’t — that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008.”
Organizing for Action, the advocacy group formed to support President Obama’s political agenda after the election, has launched an initiative — and released a new video — to shame members of Congress who deny the science behind climate change, the Guardian reports.
The group said “it was time to call out members of Congress who deny the existence of climate change, saying they had blocked efforts to avoid its most catastrophic consequences.”
Taegan 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.
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