The Republican National Committee “formally decided Friday not to partner with CNN and NBC News for any presidential debates during the 2016 election cycle, a rebuke of the networks’ plans to air programs about Hillary Rodham Clinton,” the Washington Post reports.
“Top RNC leaders voted unanimously on a resolution stating that the national party will not partner with the networks nor sanction any primary debates they plan to sponsor and broadcast.”
Alabama GOP Seeks to Purge Members Over Gay Marriage
A proposed amendment to the Alabama Republican Party bylaws “would allow the removal of the Alabama College Republicans chairwoman, who spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage in June, from the party’s steering committee,” the Birmingham News reports.
Carlos Danger Weiners
“Anthony Weiner may be lagging in the race for New York City mayor, but he is winning in another area — hot dog marketing,” ABC News reports.
“The delicious combination of Anthony Weiner’s name and his sexually suggestive Twitter antics were apparently too good to pass up for one Florida marketing man, who has joined forces with an Illinois hot dog company to create a hot dog brand called Carlos Danger Weiners, which he has incorporated into the company Carlos Danger LLC.”
Iranian Politician Banned for Being Too Pretty
Iranian politician Nina Siakhali Moradi had her city council election overturned by religious conservatives, who barred her from office for being too pretty, Iran Wire reports.
Weiner Had Relationship with Former Staffer
“Before he married his wife, former Congressman Anthony Weiner had a previously undisclosed relationship with an on-again-off-again congressional and campaign aide nearly two decades his junior,” Politicker reports.
“In pushing back against the publication of this story, the spokeswoman for his current mayoral campaign, Barbara Morgan, phoned The New York Observer‘s editor in chief. Partially confirming the relationship, she said the two “had a personal relationship.” (At that point, Ms. Morgan stopped mid-sentence to request the conversation be continued off the record.)”
Conservative TV Hosts Seen as Debate Moderators
“Republican insiders say the next presidential campaign season may see some star power from the hard-core conservative crowd, via debates moderated by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity,” the Washington Times reports.
Said one GOP insider: “It makes a lot of sense. We’d get a huge viewership, they’d make a lot of news and maybe have some fun, too.”
John Fund: “Just as the media landscape has offered more choices to consumers with
the advent of new players, so too would presidential debates appeal to
more viewers if they moved beyond the formats and cast that seem to have
been ordained over a half century ago, during the Nixon-Kennedy
confrontations. Everything else in the media is changing, so why not the
fusty and frozen format of debates?”
Obama Brings Back Carter Idea
Wonk Wire: Obama returns solar panels back to the White House.
King Says GOP Under a ‘Spell’
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told CNN that Republicans are under a “spell” when it comes to immigration reform.
Said King: “Last year, almost everybody in my conference would’ve agreed with me on this immigration issue. And this year, it seems as though after the presidential election a spell’s been cast over a good number of Republicans and they seem to think the presidential election was about immigration. I’d ask them, find me that debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama that addressed immigration. I don’t remember it. I can’t find it. The election was about jobs and the economy, not immigration. And yet some Republican strategists and leadership have decided let’s just go ahead and debate immigration for twelve months and then we’ll see if we can solve the problem.”
2016 Checklist
The AP has a rundown of all the possible 2016 presidential candidates and what they’re already doing to prepare themselves for a campaign.
“It’s a time to get to know donors, to get the public to know you on TV and social media, to visit big primary states, network with the activists and ideologues, produce a vanity book, polish a record, deflect personal baggage, take a stand, develop a world view and scout for advisers and political organizations that can power up a campaign team. All this, for the season of harvest to come. And all while sounding coy about running.”
Republicans Dig a Deeper Hole
Politico: “It is almost impossible to find an establishment Republican in town who’s not downright morose about the 2013 that has been and is about to be. Most dance around it in public, but they see this year as a disaster in the making, even if most elected Republicans don’t know it or admit it.”
“Several influential Republicans told us the party is actually in a worse place than it was Nov. 7, the day after the disastrous election… These Republicans came into the year exceptionally hopeful the party would finally wise up and put immigration and irresponsible rhetoric and governing behind them. Instead, Republicans dug a deeper hole. This probably doesn’t matter for 2014, because off-year elections are notoriously low-turnout affairs where older whites show up in disproportionate numbers. But elite Republican strategists and donors tell us they are increasingly worried the past nine months make 2016 look very bleak — unless elected GOP officials in Washington change course, and fast.”
Enzi Has Yet to Respond to Cheney Primary Threat
The Casper Star Tribune notes that Liz Cheney (R) “is in campaign mode, speaking at events, collecting contributions, sending out press releases and advertising in the state.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Enzi (R) “is traveling from town to town for ‘listening sessions,’ meetings he regularly schedules during congressional recess periods, where he lets constituents ask him questions and express their concerns for the country.”
“Despite the travel, the three-term senator has yet to kick his campaign into gear. He’s scheduled to speak to conservative donors and activists next month in New York, but he’s still without a campaign website, bumper stickers, advertisements and campaign staff. He said he has a full-time job representing Wyomingites in Washington and hasn’t announced when he will unveil a campaign team in the state.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Probably the most popular vote I’ve made, in this district.”
— Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM), quoted by Salon, for his vote against John Boehner for Speaker. He adds that it’s received well: “Always applause, sometimes standing applause.”
Two Takes on McConnell’s Odds for Re-election
Cook Political Report: “McConnell can take on Grimes, though, he must contend with a primary challenge to his right from businessman and political newcomer Matt Bevin. It is worth remembering that McConnell runs textbook perfect campaigns and is an aggressive fundraiser. His opponents underestimate him at their peril. Polling shows McConnell well ahead of Bevin in the primary, but that the general election is in single digits. The contest is in the Toss Up column.”
Rothenberg Political Report: “Suggesting that this race is close to a toss up dramatically over-weights early polling and ignores the Republican advantage in the state in federal races. After all, McConnell won in 2008 — a horrible year for Republicans. We reiterate our ‘Republican favored’ rating but definitely agree that this race is worth watching and that Republicans could find themselves in trouble here thirteen months from now.”
De Blasio and Quinn Battle for Top Spot
A new NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll in New York City finds Christine Quinn leading the Democratic race for mayor with 24%, followed by Bill de Blasio at 21%, Bill Thompson at 16% and Anthony Weiner at 12%.
Michigan GOP Still Looking for a Candidate
National Journal:
“The brain trust of the Michigan Republican Party, energized earlier
this year by the surprise retirement of Democratic Sen. Carl Levin,
quickly set out to accomplish twin objectives: Recruit an electable,
well-financed Republican candidate, and do it quickly so that Rep. Gary
Peters, the de facto Democratic nominee, was not afforded a free pass to
campaign uncontested. With Labor Day around the corner, Republicans in
Lansing are failing on both fronts.”
Second Term is Tougher
Norm Ornstein:
“In many ways, Obama faces the same kinds of challenges that hit every
second-term president. His opportunities to excel are there–but the
combination of the typical and the added complication of rampant and
intense tribalism make break-the-mold success an uphill battle.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think we have some folks who believe that our job is to be college
professors. Now college professors are fine I guess. Being a college
professor, they basically spout out ideas that nobody does anything
about. For our ideas to
matter we have to win. And if we don’t govern all we do is shout to the
wind, and so I am going to do anything I need to do to win.”
— New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by NBC News, at a closed-door meeting of the Republican National
Committee.
Proposition 8 is Dead
Wonk Wire notes the effort to revive California’s ban on same-sex marriage was denied.
