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Republicans Target Mommy Blogs

April 30, 2013 at 9:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Republicans are targeting popular ‘mommy blog’ websites in a
digital ad campaign beginning Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to
repair the GOP’s image with certain voting blocs — in this case swing
female voters — who have sided decisively with Democrats in recent
elections,” USA Today reports.

“The banner ads will be featured on over 100 websites popular
among women and geo-targeted to be viewed by residents in 20
Democratic-held congressional districts targeted by the GOP for 2014.”

McConnell Responds Again to Obama Joke

April 30, 2013 at 9:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded to President Obama’s jab at the White House Correspondents Dinner by tweeting a photo of himself at a bar with a beer next to an empty chair with a glass of red wine.

The GOP Immigration Nightmare

April 30, 2013 at 8:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

McKay Coppins notes that as conservative criticism of the immigration reform effort “grows louder, many Republican operatives, donors, and consultants are bracing for an outcome that would be even worse, politically, than the demise of the bill: A fierce, national, right-wing backlash that drowns out the GOP’s friendlier voices, dominates Telemundo and Univision, and dashes any hopes the party had of making inroads to the Hispanic electorate by 2016.”

Said GOP media strategist Paul Wilson: “We are really balanced here on a little precipice and if this, pardon the pun, goes south, we could be in very serious trouble. If [the legislation] stalls or is killed off by conservatives, we could take the Hispanic community and turn them into the African-American community, where we get four percent on a good day… We could be a lost party for generations.”

Quote of the Day

April 30, 2013 at 8:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We already know that, left to its own devices, this doesn’t end up in a good place. Anyone who thinks this issue is done is fooling themselves.”

— Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, quoted by the New York Times, on the continuing political challenges of Obamacare.

Terms Expired for All FEC Commissioners

April 30, 2013 at 8:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

All members of the Federal Election Commission members are now serving expired terms, Bloomberg reports.

“It’s the latest embarrassment for the Obama administration and the FEC, which for years has been stymied because its partisan split — three Democratic members and three Republicans — has paralyzed the agency on election enforcement cases and efforts to rewrite campaign-finance disclosure rules to adapt to the new groups that entered the political arena in the 2012 campaigns.”

Most Against Intervention in Syria and North Korea

April 30, 2013 at 8:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds 62% of Americans say that the U.S. does not have a responsibility to intervene in Syria and 56% think that North Korea is a threat that can be contained for now.

Gingrich Admits He’s Talking About Crossfire

April 30, 2013 at 8:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Newt Gingrich confirmed to Time that he’s been talking with CNN about reviving the political talk show “Crossfire.”

Said Gingrich: “People forget but for the first 10 years it was a very serious program. I remember doing it as a junior member — it was a real workout. It was a destination for people to hear both sides discuss serious issues in an entertaining way.”

McConnell Seeks to Lead GOP Tech Innovations

April 30, 2013 at 6:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “has set an ambitious goal for
his reelection campaign: to build the most sophisticated Republican
digital and data operation to date,” National Journal reports.

“The Kentucky Republican, known more
as tactician than technologist, is making a major investment in
technology infrastructure in hopes that a treasure trove of real-time
data about the electorate will help guide him to a sixth term.”

FBI Investigating McDonnell Ties to Donor

April 30, 2013 at 5:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

FBI agents are conducting interviews about the relationship between Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, his wife, Maureen, and a major campaign donor who paid for the food at the wedding of the governor’s daughter, the Washington Post reports.

The interviews “began in recent months as an outgrowth of a federal investigation of securities transactions involving Star Scientific, which produces a dietary supplement called Anatabloc… Now, federal officials are trying to determine whether to expand that investigation into a broader look at whether McDonnell or his administration took any action to benefit Star Scientific in exchange for monetary or other benefits.”

Colbert Busch and Sanford Trade Jabs in Only Debate

April 30, 2013 at 5:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) portrayed Mark Sanford (R) “as a dishonest job-killer who voted against the dredging of the Charleston port during a debate Monday, while Sanford characterized her as a wishy-washy union-backer who relies on special interest money from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other national Democrats,” The State reports.

Politico: “And so it went on one issue after another — from jobs and spending to Obamacare and gun control — in a 75-minute slugfest ahead of next week’s battle for a vacant South Carolina congressional seat.”

“It was their sole one-on-one encounter of the general election — and Colbert Busch, who is leading in polls, was so aggressive that Sanford at times looked like he didn’t know what hit him.”

Weiner Made Lucrative Consulting Business

April 30, 2013 at 5:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Over the past two years, it appeared as if Anthony Weiner (D), “once the irrepressible fireball of New York City politics, had spent his days as a stay-at-home dad, licking his wounds and mourning his ambitions after the salacious images and messages that he sent to women prompted his resignation from Congress,” the New York Times reports.

“But it turns out that from the moment he left public view, the man who had relied on a government paycheck his entire adult life was consumed by a corporate career whose profits and progress came to him, by his own account, with remarkable ease.”

Senator Says Obama is Buying Up Ammunition

April 29, 2013 at 5:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) claims the Obama administration “is buying up exceedingly high levels of ammunition in an attempt to limit the number of bullets the American public have access to on the open marketplace,” The Hill reports.

Said Inhofe: “President Obama has been adamant about curbing law-abiding Americans’ access and opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment rights. One way the Obama Administration is able to do this is by limiting what’s available in the market with federal agencies purchasing unnecessary stockpiles of ammunition.”

Paul Laying Groundwork in South Carolina

April 29, 2013 at 5:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is organizing a series of public and private appearances across the first-in-the-South primary state in June, CNN reports.

The trip is “an effort to get to know Republicans across the state.”

He’s also set to endorse former Gov, Mark Mark Sanford (R) in the special election in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district.

Cruz Slams Senate GOP Squishes

April 29, 2013 at 4:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that his fellow GOP senators lambasted him for threatening to filibuster gun control reform, Politico reports.

Said Cruz: “They said, ‘Listen, before you did this the politics of this were great — the Dems were the bad guys, the Republicans were the good guys. Now we all look like a bunch of squishes.’ Well, there is an alternative — you could just not be a bunch of squishes.”

As David Drucker notes, the bigger story is that Cruz revealed private conversations which is a huge breach of Senate etiquette.

Biden Wants Thank You for Campaigning Against Graham

April 29, 2013 at 3:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice President Joe Biden offered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) his backhanded support for re-election, Roll Call reports.

Said Biden: “I told him I’ll come to South Carolina and campaign for him or against him, whichever will help the most — I know which it’ll be. I’m going down there to to the JJ next weekend, Lindsey, and I assure you I will rip your skin off for you, and I expect a thank-you note.”

“The offhand comment points to the possibility that Graham could face a 2014 primary challenge.”

McConnell Responds to Obama Joke

April 29, 2013 at 2:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded to a joke President Obama told about not wanting to get a drink with the Republican leader, the Washington Post reports.

Said McConnell: “I’m shocked. He’s obviously not seeing my soft side.”

If you didn’t see the president’s speech, it was very funny and worth watching.

Lawmaker’s Trip Cost $23K

April 29, 2013 at 2:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The House Judiciary Committee reported Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) traveled around the world on an official trip in February that cost $23,646, Political Moneyline reports.

Bonus Quote of the Day

April 29, 2013 at 2:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“No. I think it would have been a much closer race, but
I’ll tell you President Obama ran a great race and that campaigns
matter.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by the Huffington Post, on Vice President Joe Biden’s claim McCain would have won the 2008 presidential election if not for the economic crisis.