The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that a Texas school district employee accidentally was shot during a district-sponsored concealed handgun license class.
The class was part of an effort to permit teachers to carry firearms on campuses.
Lawmaker Makes Lewd Remark to Teenage Girl
Connecticut state Rep. Ernest Hewett (D) made an inappropriate remark to a 17 year old girl testifying about a program that helped her overcome her shyness and get over her fear of snakes, the New London Day reports.
Said the girl: “I am usually a very shy person, and now I am more outgoing. I was able to teach those children about certain things like snakes that we have and the turtles that we have… I want to do something toward that, working with children when I get older.”
According to an audiotape of the hearing, Hewett replied: “If you’re bashful I got a snake sitting under my desk here.”
Why America Hates Washington
Dana Millbank: “The nation was on the verge of a financial shock — an entirely avoidable shock that policymakers themselves set in motion — but all people in this town wanted to talk about was whether Gene Sperling threatened Bob Woodward.”
“This could not be more inside baseball if we were wrapped in white cowhide with red stitches.”
Dardenne May Challenge Landrieu
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne (R) confirmed to Roll Call that he’s “pondering” a run against three-term Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA).
Synder Says Detroit is in Financial Emergency
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) declared Detroit in a state of financial emergency, paving the way for an emergency manager to be appointed to run Michigan’s largest city, the Detroit News reports.
“Snyder said he has a candidate in mind but would not name that
person, noting the city has a 10-day window to appeal that ends March
11. A hearing for a possible appeal has been set for March 12.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“When it comes to the United States federal government, people do seem willing to lend us an infinite amount of money… Our debt is so big and so many people own it that it’s preposterous to think that they would stop selling us more. It’s the old story: If you owe the bank $50,000, you got a problem. If you owe the bank $50 million, they got a problem.”
— New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, quoted by Politicker.
Potential GOP Senate Candidates Still Worried
Roll Call notes that several congressmen running for U.S. Senate in 2014 or considering a bid voted against final passage of the Violence Against Women Act.
It’s yet another indication how worried Republicans are about primary challenges from their right.
Walker Enjoys White House Speculation
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) says he “enjoys being mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for president in 2016 because that means he’s doing a good job as governor,” the AP reports.
He said “if he’s doing a ‘really crappy job’ then he wouldn’t be talked about on the national stage. But he says if he does a good job, he will continue to be talked about.”
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports a secret investigation into Walker aides has ended without charges being filed.
Immigration Wars
Out next week: Immigration Wars by Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick.
Nice timing.
Yes, Some Still Approve of Congress
The New York Times did follow up interviews with the small group of people in a recent survey who said they really did approve of Congress. The generally fell into two broad camps, which might be termed the “natural optimists” and the “Obama haters.”
“Take the second group first. Several respondents said they believed that Congress — which is divided between a Republican-controlled House and a Senate where Democrats are in the majority but generally unable to pass legislation because they lack 60 votes to overcome an almost automatic filibuster by the minority party — was trying its hardest in difficult circumstances, but was repeatedly frustrated by a hubristic White House with a my-way-or-the-highway attitude.”
“The other camp of respondents just tended to be looking on the brighter side of things: focusing on the future, crediting Congress with trying and offering some qualified thanks for the effort.”
Lawmaker Jokes About Transvaginal Ultrasound
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) answered a town-hall question about his position on transvaginal ultrasounds by joking that he hadn’t had one.
Paladino Launches Another Campaign
Carl Paladino (R), the combative former candidate for New York governor, is running for a seat on the Buffalo school board, WHEC-TV reports.
What Happens Next on the Sequester?
President Obama will meet with House and Senate leaders
in the Oval Office this morning but nobody
expects a last-minute solution to the automatic spending cuts triggered today.
First Read: “There’s a running theory on the Hill and even in the West Wing that negotiations over the budget resolution, which expires at the end of March, will be an opportunity to “fix” or turn off the sequester. But don’t be surprised if that deadline comes and goes without sequester being touched. Will the White House or Senate Democrats threaten government shutdown over the sequester? That’s about what it would take to force sequester into the Continuing Resolution talks. Hard to imagine the president staking out THAT position.”
“House view on sequester: use the bully pulpit to try and get the public to blame the GOP for anything they don’t like that suddenly happens (longer lines, cuts in services, etc.). The White House continues to hang their hat on a strategy of ‘hope’ — hoping the GOP caves via public pressure and displeasure. But it’s hard to imagine either Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn or John Boehner agreeing to turn off sequester in exchange for any taxes — all of them would be watching their political careers flash before their eyes if they do.”
When Actions Don’t Meet Words
First Read: “The most important message the White House and some congressional Republicans seemed intent on sending this week is that they don’t like these spending cuts — these are bad spending cuts. But their ACTIONS did not meet their WORDS. A conspiracy theorist might conclude that politicians want the cuts to go through while not getting blamed for them.”
Walter Shapiro: “This weekend, as the government arbitrarily cuts funding for domestic
and military programs–regardless of merit or logic–it can truly be said
that the inmates are now running the asylum.”
Bolling Looks Ready to Run as an Independent
Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) “is considering whether to return to the Virginia governor’s race as an independent, and he’s asking for a little help from his friends to make his decision,” the Washington Post reports.
Bolling told supporters in an email that he thinks “there is an opportunity to make history in Virginia this year.”
He is expected to announce March 14 whether he will run as an independent.
Quote of the Day
“We were on a roller coaster, exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends. And then you get off. And it’s not like, oh, can’t we be on a roller coaster the rest of our life? It’s like, no, the ride’s over.”
— Mitt Romney, in an interview to air on Fox News Sunday, breaking his post-election silence.
House Republicans Cheer Boehner
Speaker John Boehner, “the man who spent significant portions of the last Congress shuttling to and from the White House for fiscal talks with President Obama that ultimately failed twice to produce a grand bargain, has come around to the idea that the best negotiations are no negotiations,” the New York Times reports.
“While the frustrations of Congressional Democrats and Mr. Obama with Mr. Boehner are reaching a fever pitch, House Republicans could not be more pleased with their leader.”
Obama Calls on Court to Strike Down Gay Marriage Ban
“Throwing unprecedented political weight into legalizing same-sex marriage, the Obama administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down California’s ban on gay nuptials,” the San Jose Mercury News reports.
“In a friend-of-the-court brief, the administration for the first time stepped into the four-year legal battle over Proposition 8, arguing that the 2008 voter-approved law violates the federal equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples and does ‘not substantially further any important government interest.'”
