Reuters: “Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to direct the U.S. Treasury to make interest payments on U.S. bonds first and then prioritize other government outlays in case Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. Supporters of the idea see it as a politically palatable alternative to default, which could rattle markets as occurred in the summer of 2011… But critics, including some Republicans, say prioritizing payments is largely unworkable and would not fool the markets.”
Obama Gun Plan to Test Lawmakers
President Obama will start “a push for the most sweeping changes to gun laws in nearly two decades, testing whether lawmakers, including powerful members of his own party, are willing to ban the most controversial weapons and toughen requirements for prospective owners,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Flanked by children who wrote him in the aftermath of the deadly shooting spree last month at a Connecticut elementary school, Mr. Obama will call for Congress to end the sale of certain semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and to require background checks to screen gun buyers for criminal violations and serious mental illness.”
First Read
points out Obama “is going about as big as he can go, realizing there’s
little political downside (at least in the short term).”
But Politico notes “there are strong indications that any comprehensive legislation restricting weapons and ammunition won’t even see a vote on the House floor.”
Majority Don’t Want Spending Cuts Linked to Debt Ceiling
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 58% of Americans say the debt ceiling should be handled separately from the debate on spending cuts, while 36% favor linking the two.
The Wall Street Journal reports many GOP leaders “are anxious about a growing clamor among conservatives to use the need to raise the government’s $16.4 trillion debt limit as the vehicle to force spending cuts.”
The Cloakroom: Republicans getting cold feet on debt ceiling threat.
Salazar Will Leave Cabinet
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar “will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family,” the Denver Post reports.
Emanuel Ramps Up Fundraising
Chicago Tribune: “With a potential re-election bid still two years away, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is quietly accelerating his campaign fundraising, tapping donors to President Barack Obama, venture capitalists, law firms and leaders of his economic development team.”
The Republicans’ Plan for the New President
From a must-watch Frontline airing tonight: “On the night of Barack Obama’s inauguration, a group of top GOP luminaries quietly gathered in a Washington steakhouse to lick their wounds and ultimately create the outline of a plan for how to deal with the incoming administration.”
Bachmann Had “Unnatural” Relationship With Debate Coach
Former Michele Bachmann staffer Peter Waldron tells BuzzFeed that debate coach Brett O’Donnell developed an “unnatural” and “Rasputin-like” relationship with Bachmann during her failed 2012 presidential campaign.
Waldron said O’Donnell exercised an “unusual power over Mrs. Bachmann” and even “prohibited her husband, Dr. Marcus Bachmann, from sleeping in the same room with wife while on the campaign trail.”
Waldron is one of five staffers who says they are still owed money by the Bachmann campaign.
The Inside Story of Obama’s Last Campaign
Just published: Panic 2012 by Michael Hastings.
“The behind-the-scenes story of the campaign trail: from Obama’s self-destructive performance at the first debate to the harrowing days of Hurricane Sandy, all culminating in his triumphant victory late in the evening on November 6th.”
What’s Really Behind the Hagel Fight
Aaron David Miller points out that the bumpy nomination and confirmation process for Chuck Hagel to be the next defense secretary isn’t really about Hagel himself.
“This is really a fight about Barack Obama. It is being driven by three somewhat overlapping constituencies — a pro-Israel community that doesn’t trust the president, a Republican party and a neoconservative elite struggling unsuccessfully to define its own foreign policy identity, and finally, a party in opposition that is determined to remind Obama that, reelected or not, he doesn’t have a free hand.”
Lawmaker’s Wife Thought Top Aide Was a Stripper
When freshman Rep. Ted Yoho’s (R-FL) wife, Carolyn, first looked at his 24-year-old chief of staff’s Facebook page, she “was led to believe the young lady was a stripper,” National Journal reports.
Obama Did Fewer Press Conferences Than Bush or Clinton
President Obama had fewer press conferences during his first term than any other president since Ronald Reagan, Politico reports.
With Monday’s event, Obama has done a total of 79 over four years. That’s 10 fewer than George W. Bush, 54 fewer than Bill Clinton and 63 fewer than George H.W. Bush.
Reagan had only 27 press conferences during his first term.
NRA Puts Out New Shooting Game
The National Rifle Association just launched a new game for the iPhone called NRA: Practice Range. It features a shooting range and is geared towards children as young as four.
Just last month, the NRA blamed violent video games for gun violence.
Bill Keller: Is it a hoax?
Obama Close to Picking Another Chief of Staff
President Obama is close to naming Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff, with an announcement coming as soon as this week, Bloomberg reports.
McDonough would succeed Jack Lew, Obama’s choice as the next Treasury secretary.
Media Tip: Four Great Ways to Use Statistics
A guest post from Brad Phillips, author of The Media Training Bible.
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember those old television commercials for the Christian Children’s Fund. In them, actress Sally Struthers sold viewers on the promise of saving a child for “the price of a cup of coffee.”
A quarter-century later, those ads are still memorable. And the way Ms. Struthers used numbers in those commercials is a big reason why. The ads succeeded by reducing numbers down to a manageable price tag for most viewers: “For about 70 cents, you can buy a can of soda….In Ethiopia, for just 70 cents a day, you can feed a child like Jamal nourishing meals.”
Lawmaker Threatens to Impeach Obama Over Guns
Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) says he’s willing to impeach President Obama should he implement new gun regulations through executive action, the Washington Post reports.
Said Stockman: “The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic. I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.”
The Cloakroom: Why new gun controls are inevitable.
Weiner Maintains Office But Few Signs He’s Running
National Journal: “Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) continues to maintain an office for his dormant campaign for New York City mayor, according to campaign-finance disclosure forms filed Tuesday. But his disclosure shows no signs of fundraising or spending to suggest that he is preparing for a political comeback in 2013.”
RNC Chair Backs Electoral Vote Gambit
RNC Chairman Reince Preibus told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel over the weekend that he thinks Wisconsin and other battleground states “should change the way they allocate their Electoral College votes, but he said he is not inserting himself into how states decide to proceed.”
The Fix: “Basically, Republicans who have control of states that went for President Obama in the 2012 election are pushing for their states to change how they award electoral votes. While almost every state awards electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, Republicans want these states to instead award one vote to the winner of each congressional district.”
“The new system would allow Republicans to consistently win electoral
votes (and quite possibly a majority of electoral votes) from states
like Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Virginia, regardless of
whether they win the statewide vote. All five of these states went for Obama in 2012.”
McDaniel Pledges to Continue Bid Despite Sex Scandal
“Apologizing for an extramarital relationship and fighting for a political future that once seemed bright, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) tried to reassure voters that there won’t be any similar revelations as he seeks the state’s top office,” Arkansas Business News reports.
Said McDaniel: “There is no other shoe to drop.”
McDaniel “came out of political hiding last week as he faced reporters
and eased back into public life following his Dec. 18 revelation that he
had an ‘inappropriate’ relationship with a Hot Springs attorney.”
