The Cloakroom: The GOP makeover falters.
Ellison Takes on Hannity
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) tangled with Fox News host Sean Hannity in an extremely contentious interview which started with the Democratic lawmaker saying, “I mean, you know, quite frankly, you are the worst excuse for a journalist I’ve ever seen.”
Quinn Close to Locking Up Nomination in New York City
A new Quinnipiac poll finds New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D) is closing in on the 40% target needed to avoid a runoff election as she leads the Democratic primary for mayor with 37%, more than three other candidates combined.
Obama’s Secret Plan
Dick Morris says President Obama has a “secret plan” in dealing with the sequester.
“Here’s the answer: He knows the economy is tanking. He realizes that we are headed for a double-dip recession. He expects unemployment to soar. He understands that his almost $300 billion in tax increases this year will drive us into recession. So he needs an out.”
“It will be the GOP’s fault. All the warnings of the dire impact of these across-the-board budget cuts — including a New York Times article about how states fear the economic impact of sequester — are designed to set up a massive blame game in which he excoriates Republicans for the recession.”
Why Christie Wasn’t Invited to CPAC
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was not invited to speak at the annual CPAC conference this year because he broke with conservatives on key issues over the past year, National Journal reports.
Said organizer Al Cardenas: “CPAC is like the all-star game for professional athletes; you get invited when you have had an outstanding year. Hopefully he will have another all-star year in the future, at which time we will be happy to extend an invitation. This is a conservative conference, not a Republican Party event.”
Nate Silver points out that conservatives “had been underrating how moderate Mr. Christie was —
perhaps because they were so desperate at that time to find alternatives
to Mr. Romney and their other candidates. Now that he’s been ‘outed’ as
a moderate, it may be hard to close the closet door.”
The Week: Is Christie finished in the GOP?
Republicans Are Losing the Spending Argument
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 67% of those questioned disapprove of the “way Republicans in Congress are handling federal spending.”
Key findings: “Forty-four percent of self-identified Republicans approve of how their side is handling spending issues, while 51% disapprove. Even the base of the party is less than enthusiastic about how the congressional GOP has approached the issue — with 50% of conservative Republicans approving and 49% disapproving. Compare that to the nearly nine in ten (87%) of liberal Democrats who approve of how Obama has handled federal spending.”
Roll Call: Senate GOP divided on sequester alternative.
Boehner Says Obama is “Playing Games” with Sequester
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told CBS News it is “outrageous” for the government to release illegal immigrants from detention before the sequester deadline.
Said Boehner: “This is very hard for me to believe that they can’t find cuts elsewhere in their agency. I frankly think this is outrageous and I’m looking for more facts but I can’t believe that they can’t find the kind of savings they need out of the department short of letting criminals go free.”
He added: “I think that the administration is trying to play games — play games with the American people, scare the American people. This is not, this is not leadership.”
Washington Post: “Politically, the president seemed to be trying to cause a split
between Republican lawmakers who are set against raising taxes as part
of a compromise to avoid the spending cuts and those who are open to the
idea.”
Wide Open GOP Race in Georgia
A new Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll in Georgia finds none of the six candidates included in a Republican U.S. Senate primary poll can top 20%.
Casey Cagle leads with 17%, followed by Phil Gingrey at 15%, Jack Kingston at 12%, Tom Price at 11%, Paul Broun at 10% and Ross Tolleson at 2%.
Quote of the Day
“If the president needs some tweaks and adjustments, the Republican Party is pretty much in need of a major makeover.”
— Pollster Fred Yang, commenting on the findings in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Another GOP Lawmaker Questions Obama Birthplace
Michigan state Sen. Tom Casperson (R) told a radio show he’s not sure where Obama was born, according to Deadline Detroit.
Said Casperson: “I don’t know because it seems like that issue was dropped immediately as far as the major media went. My gut tells me if it had been a different president, say George W. Bush, they’d have been digging into like there was no tomorrow and trying to get to the bottom of, which they never really tried to get to the bottom of.”
Progress Made on Cabinet Nominees
Roll Call: “Senate Republicans are on track to confirm several of President Obama’s key Cabinet officials, despite weeks of protests and grandstanding from the GOP.”
Kelly Wins Nod in Illinois Special Election
Former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D) is conceding defeat tonight to Robin Kelly (D) in the special Democratic primary election to replace disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The AP notes Kelly emerged from the pack early “as a leader on gun-control issues…. During the campaign, Bloomberg’s super PAC, Independence USA, poured more than $2 million into the race by airing anti-gun ads in her favor.”
Obama in Much Stronger Position Than Republicans
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds justt 29% of respondents say they agree “with most” of what Republicans in Congress have proposed versus 45% for Obama and 40% for congressional Democrats.
An identical 29% have a favorable view of the Republican Party (compared with 49% for Obama and 41% for the Democratic Party.
The public also believes the GOP is more partisan: 48% say Obama wants to unifying the country in a bipartisan way, while 43% say he’s taking a partisan approach. By comparison, 64% say Republicans are taking a partisan approach, versus 22% who say it’s focused on unity.
Senate Class of 2008 is the Democratic Firewall
Roll Call: “The class of senators swept into office riding Barack Obama’s coattails in 2008 — giving Democrats a supermajority in the process — now stands to be the party’s majority firewall when it faces voters in 2014.”
“This cycle, there are more than enough seats in play for Senate Democrats to lose the majority. But party aides remain confident in their eight first-term Democrats up for re-election — all of whom won GOP seats six years ago.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I was very proud of the fact that I didn’t get anything wrong that I said during the course of the debates. I didn’t get anything wrong, and that’s a huge arena.”
— Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), quoted by Salon, on her performance in the 2012 GOP presidential debates.
Christie Will Accept Medicaid Expansion
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover 300,000 uninsured residents, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Christie joins Republican governors from Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Florida and New Mexico as well as Gov. Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, an Independent, in embracing the larger Medicaid program.
Politico notes Christie’s “status as a potential 2016 presidential contender adds
political intrigue. He’s already taken flak from fellow Republicans for
heaping praise on Obama after Hurricane Sandy at a critical time in the
2012 presidential campaign.”
Senate Will Vote to Confirm Hagel
Chuck Hagel cleared a 60-vote procedural hurdle to confirmation, setting up a final vote on his nomination as Defense secretary later today, Roll Call reports.
The Senate voted 71-27 in favor of invoking cloture on the nomination with 18 Republicans voting in favor of the motion.
Can Obama Put the House in Play in 2014?
Stu Rothenberg: “It’s far too early to know whether Democrats will have some, or even any, chance to win back the House next year; candidate recruitment has just begun, the number of retirements (and open seats) is uncertain and the president’s popularity more than 20 months from now is an open question. But we do know that history, as The New York Times‘ Nate Silver pointed out in a column last November, suggests that Democrats will have a very tough road to 218 seats.”
“Going back to the election of 1862, the only time the president’s party gained as many as 10 seats was, well, never. Even in 1934, the best showing by the president’s party in House elections since the Civil War, the president’s party gained only nine seats.”
