Politico:
“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will meet with top Democrats on
Tuesday night — followed by another leadership-only session early
Wednesday as she prepares for a meeting with all House Democrats — but
it is still unclear whether she will stay or go after nearly a decade in
power. Pelosi has declined to discuss her plans since Democrats picked
up as many as eight seats on Election Day.”
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
Woman Runs Over Her Husband for Not Voting
A pregnant Arizona woman was arrested after allegedly running over her husband with her SUV after learning he did not vote in last week’s election, Fox News reports.
Police say Holly Solomon was enraged when she discovered her husband Daniel did not vote because she believes President Obama’s re-election will bring hardship to their family.
Quote of the Day
“We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything. We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”
— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), quoted by Politico, urging Republicans to “stop being the stupid party.”
The Election Was Close But Not Really
Charlie Cook: “It’s certainly true that 51 percent (rounding up from 50.5) to 48 percent is close, but since the end of World War II, five elections have been closer. Mitt Romney won only two more states (Indiana and North Carolina) than John McCain did, and even if he had won Florida, the GOP nominee would still have needed to win Ohio, Virginia, and either Colorado or Iowa, based on the sequence of the election margins.”
“The danger for Republicans clinging to that solace is that it sidesteps the inconvenient truth that they have now lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections, from 1992 on. For the GOP, this was more than one bad night.”
Walsh Weighs Bid for Illinois Governor or Senate
Less than 12 hours after his concession speech to Tammy Duckworth (D), Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) told the Daily Herald he was not ruling out a future bid for governor or U.S. Senate.
Said Walsh: “You know that I believe fervently in that vision. I don’t know of many other candidates who articulate that vision. Am I going to do something? Oh gosh, I don’t know. People approach me every day and ask, ‘Walsh, are you going to run for the governor? Are you going to run for Senate?’ I want to do my part to lead a movement to present a vision to this. I’d rather go down fighting. Democrats have ruined this state but they’ve been able to do it because the Republicans have allowed them to.”
Another Four-Star General Caught in Email Scandal
Marine Gen. John R. Allen, the four-star U.S. commander of the war in Afghanistan, exchanged thousands of “potentially inappropriate” emails with Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who claimed to have been harassed by the ex-mistress of former CIA Director David Petraeus, Politico reports.
The FBI notified the Defense Department on Sunday of “potentially inappropriate communications” between Allen and Kelley, and turned over to Pentagon lawyers 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails exchanged by the two from 2010 to 2012.”
The Washington Post reports the developing scandal “further calls into question the personal behavior of two
of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking and most respected figures, who
apparently ignored concerns about the highly sensitive nature of their
jobs as they embraced personal relationships with younger women who
were not their wives.”
However, the New York Times says a defense official could not explain how the e-mails between Ms.
Kelley and General Allen were related to the e-mails between
Mr. Petraeus and his his biographer Paula Broadwell and e-mails between Ms. Broadwell and Ms.
Kelley.
Daily Beast: Five facts about the Petraeus affair’s mystery woman, Jill Kelley.
Obama May Tap Kerry as Defense Secretary
President Obama is considering asking Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to serve as his next defense secretary, the Washington Post reports.
“Although Kerry is thought to covet the job of secretary of state, senior administration officials familiar with the transition planning said that nomination will almost certainly go to Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.”
Meanwhile, counterterrorism adviser John Brennan is a leading contender for the CIA job vacated by David Petraeus if he wants it.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“The numbers we were looking at looked like we stood a pretty good chance of winning. So, when the numbers came in, going the other direction. When we saw the turnout that was occurring in urban areas that were unprecedented, it did come as a bit of a shock. So, those are the toughest losses to have — the ones that catch you by surprise.”
— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), in an interview with WISN-TV.
First Openly Bisexual Member of Congress Elected
With her razor thin Arizona congressional race finally called, Kyrsten Sinema (D) “becomes the first openly bisexual member of Congress,” the AP reports.
“Her victory came in a year when three states approved gay marriage, and at least five openly gay Democrats were elected to House seats. A Wisconsin congresswoman also became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate.”
FBI Agent Sent Shirtless Photos of Himself
The FBI agent who launched the investigation that ultimately led to the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus “was barred from taking part in the case over the summer due to superiors’ concerns that he had become personally involved in the case,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“New details about how the Federal Bureau of Investigation handled the case suggest that even as the bureau delved into Mr. Petraeus’s personal life, the agency had to address questionable conduct by one of its own–including allegedly sending shirtless photos of himself to a woman involved in the case.”
Romney Had No Votes in Many Urban Precincts
CBS News reports “it is now becoming clear just how lopsided President Obama’s victory was in some cities: in dozens of urban precincts, Mitt Romney earned literally zero votes.”
“The Phildadelphia Inquirer reported today that, in 59 precincts in inner-city Philadelphia, the GOP nominee received not a single vote. And according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, nine precincts in Cleveland returned zero Romney votes.”
“At first blush, it seems almost impossible: how, even in some of the most heavily Democratic strongholds in the country, could a major party’s presidential candidate fail to earn even one vote?”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We hit the numbers we needed to hit. Our ground game turned out the people it needed to turnout. They just turned out more.”
— Romney political director Rich Beeson, in an interview with National Review, saying the campaign’s ground game “worked fine.”
Who is the Strongest 2016 GOP Candidate?
The latest National Journal Political Insiders Poll finds Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on who might be the strongest Republican to run for president in 2016, but both groups look first to Florida.
GOP insiders: Marco Rubio 40%, Jeb Bush 27%, Paul Ryan 9%, Rick Santorum 9%, Chris Christie 8%
Democratic insiders: Jeb Bush 47%, Chris Christie 28%, Marco Rubio 13%
Remember the Guy with the Romney Tattoo?
Eric Hartsburg — who was paid $15,000 to get a five inch Romney campaign tattoo on his face — now tells Politico he’s “totally disappointed, man. I’m the guy who
has egg all over his face, but instead of egg, it’s a big Romney/Ryan
tattoo. It’s there for life.”
But he added, “I’m hoping this opens some other doors in the entertainment business.”
Republicans Lost on the Issues Too
First Read: “For all the talk about how Mitt Romney and the Republicans lost when it came to demographics, the turnout, and the tactics, the exit polls also show that they lost when it came to the issues.”
“For years, the GOP has branded itself as the party that supports low taxes (especially for the wealthy) and opposes abortion and gay marriage. But according to the exit polls from last week’s presidential election, a combined 60% said that tax rates should increase either for everyone or for those making more than $250,000. Just 35% said the tax rates shouldn’t increase for anyone.”
“What’s more, 59% said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. And by a 49%-to-46% margin, voters said that their states should legally recognize same-sex marriage.”
The Poopy Head Strategy
Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist gave CBS News an interesting theory as to why President Obama won the presidential election.
Said Norquist: “The president was committed; elected on the basis that he was not Romney and Romney was a poopy head and you should vote against Romney and he won by two points. But he didn’t make the case that we should have higher taxes and higher spending, he kind of sounded like the opposite.”
Why Did Petraeus Resign?
The Week looks at the three most popular conspiracy theories explaining why CIA Director David Petraeus resigned in the wake of an extramarital affair.
Quote of the Day
“If Republicans do not do better in the Hispanic community, in a few short years Republicans will no longer be the majority party in our state.”
— Sen.-elect Ted Cruz (R-TX), in an interview with the Ryan Lizza.
