Ashley Judd is contacting key Democratic legislators as she contemplates a U.S. Senate bid against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), according to Ryan Alessi.
Kennedy May Be Tapped as Envoy to Japan
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, is a leading candidate to become President Obama’s nominee as U.S. ambassador to Japan, Bloomberg reports.
The president has signed off on Kennedy’s nomination, but her vetting for the post hasn’t been completed.
Homeland Security Official Quits in Protest
The Associated Press reports that the Homeland Security Department
official in charge of the agency’s immigration enforcement and removal
operations has resigned after hundreds of illegal immigrants were
released from jails because of government spending cuts.
Update: Politico reports the agency denies the story and says the official announced his departure “weeks ago.”
Latham Will Not Run in Iowa
Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) announced in an email that he will not run for U.S. Senate, potentially clearing a path for Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to secure the Republican nomination.
Roll Call: “King was recently cited by a new GOP group formed to help the party nominate strong Senate candidates as an example of someone who would have a tough time winning statewide.”
Jackson Writing a Memoir
Disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), who pleaded guilty last week to misusing $750,000-plus in campaign money, is writing a memoir, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Said a sources who has seen early drafts: “He has nothing else to do right now. He’s desperately trying to change the narrative of his life story.”
“Putting pen to paper is nothing new for people in trouble with the law. While former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was awaiting trial, he wrote The Governor, a book in which he blamed his downfall on overzealous prosecutors and political enemies.”
More Administration Jobs Remain Unfilled
All presidential administrations have vacancies — that’s inevitable — but an analysis of appointments data by ProPublica reveals that more presidentially appointed positions were sitting vacant at the end of President Obama’s first term (13%) than at the end of Bill Clinton’s (11%) or George W. Bush’s (10%) first terms.
Key finding: “At least 68 of the positions remain vacant, including 43 that have been vacant for more than a year.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Some people could make the argument that a lot of people like being in abusive relationships. It’s a love-hate relationship. It’s very, very common for people to stick around with somebody they love who also abuses him or her.”
— New Hampshire state Rep. Mark Warden (R), quoted by the Concord Monitor, during a debate on a bill to reduce the penalty for simple assault.
Voting Rights Act in Peril
Tom Goldstein thinks the questions this morning from Supreme Court justices indicate that “a majority of the Court seems committed to invalidating Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and requiring Congress to revisit the formula for requiring preclearance of voting changes. The vote seems quite likely to be five to four.”
USA Today: “The justices who could be the swing votes in an eventual ruling
suggested that an outdated formula built into the law now discriminates
against the South, much as Southern states discriminated against black
voters by erecting barriers such as poll taxes and literacy tests.”
Lawmaker Compares Gun Control to Castration
Illinois state Rep. Jim Sacia (R) went on an epic tirade against Democratic legislators for forcing gun control on the entire state to deal with Chicago’s “run away gun problem” and said the state’s gun control laws are akin to asking him to get “castrated” because Chicagoans are having too many babies.
Said Sacia: “Here’s an analogy folks, I ask you to think of this: You folks in Chicago, want me to get castrated because you’re families are having too many kids. It spells out exactly what is happening here! You want us to get rid of guns…”
Clinton’s Unwritten Memoir is Talk of Publishing World
Hillary Clinton admitted she’s planning to write another memoir and BuzzFeed reports New York publishing types “immediately began speculating about what topics might be covered in the book’s pages, what publishing house would get the project — and, of course, what kind of monster advance she’d get for it.”
“Estimates for Clinton’s advance — the amount of money an author is paid before the book goes on the shelves — ranged from $5 million to $14 million. Her husband got $15 million for his 2004 autobiography, My Life, but as the publishing industry adapts to the digital age, seven- and eight-figure advances are hard to come by.”
Club for Growth Targets RINOs
Club for Growth Action launched a new website, PrimaryMyCongressman.com, to raise awareness of RINOs who are “currently serving in safe Republican seats.”
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Obama Calls Congressional Leaders to the White House
The White House invited congressional leaders to the White House on Friday — the day that automatic federal spending cuts take effect — to discuss those cuts, NBC News reports.
“Republicans were quick to question why the White House would schedule the meeting only on the final day of the belabored back-and-forth over the cuts.”
GOP Wallowing in Self Pity
Michael Kinsley chronicles how Republicans, and their affiliated media, are complaining “loudly about feeling bullied by their opponents.”
“Big, bad President Obama, creepy Harry Reid, that B-word Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the gang of toughs called the Democratic Party are picking on the poor defenseless GOP. As a campaigning theme, it seems insane. The GOP has long prospered by portraying Democrats as the wimps, dangerously weak and unfit for command. Does the name Michael Dukakis ring a bell? And in really heady moments, like 1984, when Reagan earned his second term, or 1994 and 2010, when sweeping victories in off-year elections seemed to foretell an imminent landslide, Republican fantasies of one-party rule involved the triumph of their party, not humiliation by the other side.”
“In fact, moaning about how weak you are compared with the opposition seems so obviously a political mistake that we can only reach one conclusion: This must be sincere.”
Dead Heat for Florida Governor
A new Hamilton Campaigns (D) poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) tied with Charlie Crist (D) in a potential 2014 gubernatorial match up, 41% to 41%.
Republicans are Losing Ground
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.
