The Cloakroom: The 3 inconsistencies that are breaking apart the Republican party.
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Bonus Quote of the Day
“Well, the main thing is I just wanted to have a chance to publicly say thank you, because I think Hillary will go down as one of the finest secretaries of state we’ve had. It has been a great collaboration over the last four years.”
— President Obama, on why he did a joint interview on 60 Minutes with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Harkin Will Not Run Again
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) tells the AP he will not seek re-election in 2014.
Said the 73-year old Harkin: “It’s just time to step aside.”
“The announcement comes as a surprise, considering he had $2.7 million in his campaign war chest and was planning a fundraiser next month.”
Topless Protesters Take on Economic Elite
“Three women angry over sexism and male domination of the world economy ripped off their shirts and tried to force their way into a gathering of corporate elites in a Swiss resort,” the AP reports.
“Predictably, they failed. The ubiquitous and huge security force policing the World Economic Forum in Davos carried the women away, kicking and screaming.”
When Did Hillary and Barack Become Friends?
The Fix: “One source close to the situation suggest that the relationship’s evolution from rivals to friends stems from simply spending lots (and lots) of time together over the past four years — particularly on foreign travel. Familiarity, in this case, bred camaraderie not contempt, it seems.”
“When the detente began exactly is somewhat hard to trace although one Democrat suggested that it all started when Hillary and Bill Clinton both spoke at the 2008 party convention.”
Nevada Lawmaker Held for Psychiatric Evaluation
Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks (D) has been detained by police for a psychiatric evaluation after a disturbance at his grandmother’s house, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
Police said Brooks “was exhibiting what was described as bizarre behavior” and seized a sword from him.
The detainment is the latest development since last weekend, when Brooks was arrested on charges of threatening the life of Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick.
Bad Lip Reading the Inauguration
President Obama gets the bad lip reading treatment at the start of his second term.
Obama Sticks with Familiar Faces in Staff Shake Up
“As he heads into a second term with sweeping ambition in an era of gridlock, President Obama is assembling a new White House team that looks much like the old one, choosing familiarity over freshness even at the risk of insularity,” the New York Times reports.
“While aides played musical chairs, moving up and moving around to new positions, the overall continuity suggested that Mr. Obama felt no need to inject new energy into a team that brought him through re-election last year. Buffeted by one crisis after another, the president prefers to stick with the circle of advisers he has come to trust through four tumultuous years in office, wary of introducing new personalities after some unsuccessful experiments in his first term.”
Boehner Opens Up About His Divided Party
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was “remarkably candid” in a recent speech about the problems holding his party together during his fiscal cliff negotiations with President Obama, The Hill reports.
Said Boehner: “You have no idea the suspicions and the undercurrents that it caused, frankly, a lot of my members. It really has, in fact, caused somewhat of a breach that I’ve been in the middle of trying to repair.”
He added: “Some of our members don’t realize that while I may be a nice enough guy, and I get along with people, when I was voting I had the 8th most conservative voting record in the House. But a lot of our newer members – they don’t know that. And so, you know, they think I’m some squish, that I’m ready to sell them out in a heartbeat, when obviously, most of you in this room know that that ain’t quite who I am.”
Quote of the Day
Obama Bets on Recess Apppointments and Loses
President Obama “made a big gamble last January when he issued four recess appointments during a three-day break between meetings of the Senate — and with the court ruling Friday broadly undercutting his ability to make such appointments, he may have lost even bigger,” Politico reports.
Legal experts say the president “almost certainly did not anticipate the gamble going as spectacularly sour as it did Friday when a federal appeals court not only invalidated the three NLRB appointments but cut the heart out of the recess appointment power presidents of both parties have wielded for two centuries.”
Washington Post: “The issue seems certain to end up before the Supreme Court, which
ultimately could clarify a president’s authority to fill his
administration and appoint federal judges when a minority of the Senate
blocks consideration of his choices.”
The View Obama Wanted to See One More Time
The Daily Beast has the photo as President Obama left the inaugural platform.
Sarah Palin and Fox News Part Ways
Sarah Palin’s contract with Fox News has ended and it is not being renewed, the New York Times reports.
“A Fox spokeswoman confirmed Friday that Fox had parted ways with the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee, effectively reducing her exposure to the channel’s millions of loyal viewers. It was unclear whether the parting was Ms. Palin’s choice, but it was described as amicable.”
A source close to Palin tells Real Clear Politics that Fox News offered Palin a contract but she turned it down.
Miller Mulls Another Senate Bid in Alaska
Former Alaska U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller (R) is seriously considering challenging Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) next year, Robert Costa reports.
“According to several sources, Miller huddled with Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He also stopped by the office of Senator Lisa Murkowski. It was the pair’s first encounter since Murkowski, running as an independent, beat Miller in 2010.”
Which U.S. County Most Loves Obama?
Josh Green: “The honor goes to Shannon County, tucked into the southwest corner of South Dakota with a population of about 13,000. Ninety-three percent of the county’s voters supported Obama, the highest percentage of any county in the country.”
Romney Pledges to Stay Involved
Mitt Romney “told top Washington bundlers, donors and senior campaign leadership in a meeting Friday morning that he would help out GOP candidates for governor in 2013, during the upcoming midterm elections and the 2016 presidential race,” Politico reports.
Said Romney: “We lost, but I’m not going away. I will continue to help.”
But he also made clear to people at the meeting that his ambition for elected office has ended.
Obama to Unveil Immigration Reform Next Week
President Obama “plans to launch his second-term push for an immigration overhaul during a visit to Nevada next week in a bid to win congressional approval of a reform package this year,” Reuters reports.
“Obama’s proposals would largely be based on a “blueprint” the president put forth in a policy speech he delivered on the border near El Paso, Texas, in 2011, but which never made it into legislation.”
McDaniel Drops Bid for Arkansas Governor
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D), who was caught in a sex scandal last year, has formally ended his bid to become governor, KARK reports.
