Massachusetts Democrats and people close to Gov. Deval Patrick (D) tell National Journal that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) “has undercut his own explicit hopes for the seat likely to be vacated if Sen. John Kerry is confirmed as secretary of State. Frank’s very public lobbying for the job–he disclosed his aspirations on Morning Joe–make Patrick, the man who would have power of appointment, less likely to go along.”
Rockefeller Will Retire from Senate
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) will not run for a sixth term in 2014, putting his U.S. Senate seat in play, Politico reports.
Quote of the Day
“I’m sure that I couldn’t get all 49 other governors to admit that they would want to be Texans. I’m thinking that Gov. Cuomo would not admit that he’d want to be a Texan.”
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the AP.
Bachmann Refuses to Pay Five Staffers
More than a year after she dropped out, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) “has refused to pay five staffers from her failed presidential bid,” Salon reports.
The dispute “started when former Iowa straw poll staffers refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement that would bar them from discussing any ‘unethical, immoral, or criminal activity’ they witnessed on the campaign with police or reporters.”
Tax Reform Prospects Dim
Politico: “In a perfectly divided Washington, a mix of politics, policy and personality has made a comprehensive rewrite of the nation’s tax system — a top Republican priority — increasingly elusive in 2013, aides and lawmakers say.”
“The fiscal cliff has deepened distrust between the two parties. The politics have become riskier and more complicated. Time is short. And Washington has to first endure battles over the debt ceiling and scheduled spending cuts before tax reform can come under serious consideration.”
Frank Backs Markey in Senate Bid
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) tells WBUR that he will support Rep. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) run for Sen. John Kerry’s seat if Kerry is confirmed as secretary of state.
Frank is lobbying for the interim appointment to fill the seat before a special election is held.
Meanwhile, sources close to former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) tell CNN he hasn’t decided yet whether to make his own run.
Hagel Has Few Friends Left in the Senate
“For a man who spent 12 years in the Senate, Chuck Hagel will find himself with few close allies when the Armed Services Committee takes up his nomination to be secretary of defense this month,” the New York Times reports.
“Of the senators who will ultimately sit in judgment, 42 never served a day with Mr. Hagel. The ones who remain include powerful Republicans who clashed repeatedly with him over what was the singular issue of the time: the American invasion of Iraq and its bloody aftermath.”
White House Tries End Run Around the NRA
President Obama “is trying an end run around the NRA — rallying groups as varied as churches, medical organizations, retailers and the Rotary Club to build support for new gun regulations,” Politico reports.
“It’s an unusual strategy but one the Obama administration has used before: projecting strength on an issue by trying to create the perception that the White House is riding a wave of momentum from the American people. It was the theme of Obama’s two presidential campaigns and was central to his campaign-style road show to tout his fiscal cliff priorities in December.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times says that requiring all gun buyers to pass a federal background check could be a key part of a White House plan to combat mass shootings.
Ryan Hasn’t Ruled Out Presidential Bid
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) told the Wisconsin State Journal that he hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2016.
But he added, “I’ve decided not to decide.”
“For now, Ryan said he and his family are enjoying settling back down in his hometown, Janesville, after traveling around the country last year while he was the Republican vice presidential hopeful and running mate to Mitt Romney.”
Fighting Obama
Fortune: “As President Obama approaches his second inaugural, one thing has become clear: The 2008 peacemaker politician has emerged as a skilled guerrilla warrior. If Bill Clinton’s tactical legacy was disarming his opponents by stealing their ideas — welfare reform, ‘personal responsibility,’ cutting spending — Obama’s may be his skill at dividing to conquer his Republican foes.”
“Conservatives were once the reigning champs of honing in and exploiting an opponent’s weakness. Under this President, Lee Atwater’s Sun-Tzu quoting descendants have met their match.”
The GOP’s Reason for Hope in 2014
Thomas Schaller: “Turnout rates historically move in tandem, with higher turnouts in both presidential and midterm cycles during the 1960s steadily declining before ticking up slightly during the past decade. So it’s instructive to pair midterm turnouts with either the preceding or subsequent presidential cycle. And in which recent midterms was drop-off greatest compared to the preceding presidential cycle? The 2010 and 1994 cycles — the most successful cycles for Republicans in the past six decades. The GOP captured both chambers of Congress in 1994, and in 2010 flipped the House and made key Senate gains that might have been still greater had Republican primary voters not nominated far-right candidates in Colorado, Delaware and Nevada.”
“It’s no mystery why Democrats generally perform better in presidential years while Republicans tend to excel in midterm cycles: Lower midterm turnouts tend to skew the electorate toward older, white and/or more affluent voters. Given the growing cleavage in recent decades between partisan preferences of white and non-white voters, cyclic differences in racial composition are particularly important.”
Who Will Replace David Plouffe in the White House?
Politico: “In reality, no one. But there are a few emerging clues on staffers who would assume Plouffe’s multiple roles as the top in-house adviser on communications, messaging, political strategy and freelance Obama-whispering. Think Plouffe-by-committee.”
“Several administration officials tell me that current Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer… is likely to get an enhanced role sometime soon, and would possibly take over the messaging, comms and sounding board role that Plouffe occupied… It’s less clear who will take over the other half of Plouffe’s brief — since Obama shuttered the White House political office halfway through his first term.”
Sign Documents Like Jack Lew
With many ridiculing Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew’s loopy signature — which will soon adorn all U.S. currency if he’s confirmed by the U.S. Senate — Yahoo News unveils the Jack Lew signature generator.
Three Illinois Lawmakers Face Criminal Charges
The AP reports that three sitting Illinois lawmakers are currently facing criminal charges.
“Illinois is no stranger to dramatic headlines about the nexus of
politics and crime in its highest offices — most recently former Gov.
Rod Blagojevich’s conviction for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s
former U.S. Senate seat. But experts and capitol veterans can’t recall a
comparable circumstance for state legislators since the early 1970s,
when several were rounded up in a bribery trial involving cement trucks.”
Flashback of the Day
“I couldn’t betray my true feelings. I was disgusted by gays. The thought of two men kissing each other was about as appealing as a frontal lobotomy.”
— Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), writing in the Stanford Daily in 1990 on how he came to accept homosexuals.
Democrats Prefer Booker in Primary with Lautenberg
A new Fairleigh Dickinson poll in New Jersey finds Cory Booker (D) leading Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in a Democratic U.S. Senate primary, 42% to 20%.
Booker’s favorable rating also beats Lautenberg, 66% to 45%.
Said pollster Krista Jenkins: “These numbers suggest that some difficult days may lie ahead for the incumbent senator should he seek reelection. Senator Lautenberg’s unfavorables, coupled with voter preferences for Booker as the Democratic standard bearer in the general election, complicate the landscape for this living legend amongst New Jersey politicians.”
Quote of the Day
“We may have to shed blood every couple hundred years to preserve our freedoms.”
— Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), quoted by Chicago’s DNAinfo, adding that conservatives are losing the “war” with Democrats for U.S. voters.
Donald Trump Threatens to Sue Bill Maher
Donald Trump tells Extra he will sue comedian Bill Maher if he doesn’t pay up on a bet.
Maher told Jay Leno earlier this week he would offer to donate $5 million to the charity of Trump’s choice if the New York businessman would release his own birth certificate to prove he was not the “spawn of his mother having sex with orangutan.”
Trump says his lawyer provided the proof and now wants the $5 million.
