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Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) personally called police and asked to talk to the highest-ranking officer about getting a relative out of jail, NBC Dallas reports.
Said Dewhurst in an audio recording: “Sergeant, you don’t know me, but every year I’m the No.1 pick of all the law enforcement agencies in Texas. I’m the No. 1 pick and I want you to do whatever is the proper thing.”
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) announced that he will not be running for governor.
Said Brown: “For the first time in 15 plus years, I have had a Summer to spend with my family. In addition, I have been fortunate to have private sector opportunities that I find fulfilling and exhilarating. These new opportunities have allowed me to grow personally and professionally. I want to continue with that process.”
Washington Post: “Now, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that another campaign is in Brown’s immediate future, based both on what he’s been saying, and the options he has left.”
“Bradley Manning, sentenced to 35 years in military prison for the biggest breach of classified U.S. documents in U.S. history, said in a statement on Thursday he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea,” the New York Times reports.
Said Manning: “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female.”
John Bolton (R) is “about to start hiring for his political operation,” National Review reports.
“The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and conservative star is ready to hit the road, play in the 2014 midterm elections, and flesh out his domestic-policy views –including his support for gay marriage — in preparation for throwing his hat in the ring in 2016.”
Republican lawmakers are considering using a fall showdown over the country’s borrowing limit as leverage to try to delay the implementation of Obamacare, Reuters reports.
“The idea is gaining traction among Republican leaders in the House of Representatives… Republicans are weighing the tactic as an alternative to another approach that would involve denying funding for the law and threatening a possible government shutdown.”
Colorado state Sen. Vicki Marble (R) suggested that more blacks and Hispanics live in poverty, in part, because of fried chicken, KDVR reports.
Said Marble: “When you look at life expectancy, there are problems in the black race: sickle-cell anemia is something that comes up, diabetes is something that’s prevalent in the genetic makeup and you just can’t help it. Although I’ve got to say, I’ve never had better BBQ and better chicken and ate better in my life than when you go down south and you — I love it.”
Marble went on to mention how Mexicans eat vegetables in Mexico but stop eating healthily when they immigrate to the United States.
Liz Cheney (R) posted a $220 bond on a charge of making a false statement to procure a fishing license in Wyoming, the Jackson Hole News and Guide reports.
Cheney claimed she had been a resident of the state for 10 years, an error she later blamed on a clerk.
Nathan Gonazales compiles six buzz phrases “that almost always guarantee that the candidates uttering them are headed toward defeat.”
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) reached a proposed settlement agreement with his legal adversaries that likely sets the stage for the end of his brief, scandal-plagued tenure as mayor, the San Diego Union Tribune reports.
“The tentative agreement centers around a lawsuit filed against the mayor and the city by a former Filner aide who accused him of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances. Three days of mediation… ended late Wednesday when a group of lawyers and city leaders… emerged from behind closed doors to announce a deal had been reached.”
The City Council will consider the proposal at 1 p.m. Friday in closed session.
Enrollment is now open for Larry Sabato’s free online course about President John F. Kennedy’s life, administration and legacy. It will begin on Oct. 21, with two hours of video instruction each week for four weeks.
The course coincides with publication of Sabato’s new book, The Kennedy Half Century.
The United States “has ‘strong indications’ the Syrian government employed chemical weapons in a series of attacks Wednesday in the suburbs of Damascus, in what would amount to a serious escalation in poison-gas use in the conflict,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Washington Post editorial: “The United States should be using its own resources to determine, as quickly as possible, whether the opposition’s reports of large-scale use of gas against civilians are accurate. If they are, Mr. Obama should order direct U.S. retaliation against the Syrian military forces responsible and adopt a plan to protect civilians in southern Syria with a no-fly zone.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that Louisiana Republicans aren’t sure whether President Obama or George W. Bush was responsible for the federal government’s “poor” response when levees broke after Hurricane Katrina.
Key finding: 29% of Republican primary voters in Louisiana blamed Obama, who took office in 2009, and 28% blamed Bush, whose term lasted through 2008.
Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005.
Bill Schnieder: “Republicans do have a debate problem. Debates often expose their candidates as outside the mainstream on issues like climate change and evolution and contraception and immigration and rape and safety net programs. The reason for that is that many Republican candidates are outside the mainstream on issues like climate change and evolution and contraception and immigration and rape and safety net programs.”
“It looks like Republicans are trying to hide something. But the debates are not the party’s problem. The party is the party’s problem.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) “game plan for the next three years is quietly taking shape: Win reelection next year in this purple state without moderating a record that has won many hearts in the conservative base; let the other GOP hopefuls get sullied by the mud pit of Congress and each other; then pounce in 2015,” Politico reports.
“That, in essence, is the outline of the likely presidential contender’s game plan that emerged from interviews with multiple people in his orbit.”
“Each of us is a different religion. But, God damn it Ron, we have got to build peace in the world. And that’s what I’m working on.”
— Richard Nixon, on White House tapes released today, talking to Ronald Reagan on April 30, 1973 after delivering a speech on the Watergate scandal.
Just three years ago, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) was the most popular governor in the country. A new Public Policy Polling survey shows he’s now the most unpopular Republican governor in the country and the second most unpopular governor overall.
Just 28% of voters now approve of Jindal to 59% who disapprove. That’s an 11 point decline in his net approval just since February.
Wonk Wire notes it could be in Northern Colorado.
Gawker gets a copy of the “2013 Intern Manual” from Speaker John Boehner’s office.
Included among the manual’s “Rules for Intern Success” are helpful pointers like “Don’t talk to the press” and “You are not here to change the world”:
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
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— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
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— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.