Roll Call: “Traditionally, state parties have been the meeting point between the national political organizations and the local ground game. But in recent cycles, many of them have become so dysfunctional that they are now irrelevant — or even worse, detrimental, to the national party’s efforts.”
Faith in Congress Hits New Low
A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds the American public’s dissatisfaction with Washington has reached new heights.
A whopping 83% of Americans disapprove of Congress’ job, which is an all-time high in the survey. And 57% voters say they would vote to defeat and replace every single member of Congress if they had such an option on their ballot – another all-time high.
Meanwhile, President Obama has seen his job-approval rating dip to its lowest level since August 2011, “when the debt-ceiling showdown wounded almost every Washington politician.”
Republicans Headed for Confrontation Over Spending
Congressional Republicans “are moving to gut many of President Obama’s top priorities with the sharpest spending cuts in a generation and a new push to hold government financing hostage unless the president’s signature health care law is stripped of money this fall,” the New York Times reports.
“As Mr. Obama prepares to deliver a major economic address on Wednesday in Illinois, Republicans in Washington are delivering blow after blow to programs he will promote as vital to a more robust economic recovery and a firmer economic future — from spending on infrastructure and health care to beefing up regulatory agencies. While Mr. Obama would like to keep the economic conversation lofty, his adversaries in Congress are already fighting in the trenches.”
Roll Call: Shutdown blame begins anew.
Republicans Kick Off Their Own ’50 State Strategy’
“After weaknesses in its ground game were badly exposed in 2012, the Republican National Committee is taking a page straight out of the Democratic playbook and launching an ambitious “50 state strategy” that will steer party resources and staffers to every corner of the country as it works to repair its voter contact effort before the next presidential election,” CNN reports.
Bevin Goes on Offensive Against McConnell
Even before he officially enters the GOP Senate primary race, Matthew Bevin (R) fired off a press release accusing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “of misleading the public to avoid talking about his own record in the Senate,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
Said Bevin: “The 2014 U.S. Senate race has barely begun and already it’s the same old Mitch McConnell with nothing but smear tactics and misleading the public about his opponents.”
Rangel Tentatively Says He’ll Seek Another Term
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) told the New York Daily News that he is running for re-election in 2014 — at least for now.
But Rangel isn’t ruling out retirement and noted his plans could change “around October,” based on “what the community decides.”
North Carolina GOP Pushes Sweeping Election Changes
North Carolina lawmakers “are moving toward approving a sweeping set of changes to North Carolina’s election laws unveiled Tuesday, which would cut the number of early voting days, require voters to show government-issued photo IDs and eliminate several forms of voter registration,” the Charlotte Observer reports.
Republicans says they want to “restore integrity” to the voting process while critics says the bill “will make it harder for the elderly, poor, minorities and students to vote.”
Second Woman Makes Filner Accusation
A San Diego political consultant said San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) “patted her rear end and made crude comments about her at a fundraiser eight years ago while she was working for his congressional campaign,” the San Diego Union Tribune reports.
Obama Turns Focus to the Economy
President Obama begins today a series of speeches on the economy, the AP reports.
“The trio of speeches comes as Congress prepares to leave Washington next week for its monthlong August recess. These and other speeches planned for the coming weeks and months are designed to increase public pressure on lawmakers in hopes of avoiding showdowns over taxes and spending in the fall. The White House believes such stalemates will stunt the economy, which has added more than 200,000 jobs a month in the past six months. The new federal budget year begins Oct. 1 and the government will soon hit its borrowing limit.”
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Kinky Friedman Considering Another Bid
Humorist Kinky Friedman “doesn’t know if he’s ready to jump back into Texas politics. But the cigar-chewing humorist and musician — known for the black attire and cowboy hats he normally dons — said he may soon create an exploratory committee to help him decide whether to run for office again,” the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.
“And if so, for which one.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Perhaps I’m surprised that more things didn’t come out sooner.”
— Anthony Weiner, at a press conference acknowledging sending additional lewd online messages.
Summers is Frontrunner for Fed Chair
Ezra Klein: “The word among Federal Reserve watchers right now is that the choice is down to Janet Yellen or Larry Summers as Ben Bernanke’s replacement… People dismissed Summers’s chances a month or two ago, but he’s increasingly viewed as the leading candidate today — and opinions on this, for reasons I don’t fully understand, have really hardened in the last 72 hours.”
Smith Mulls Comeback Bid in New Hampshire
Former Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) “hasn’t ruled out a run” against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) next year, WMUR reports.
“The move marks the first time a conservative trusted by the party’s base has emerged as a possible candidate to take on Shaheen… If he were to run, Smith would no doubt have to further explain why he left the Republican Party a dozen years ago for a brief time. Since he is a Florida resident, he would also have to officially move back to New Hampshire.”
McConnell Aides Allegedly Threatened Primary Challenger
Allies of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tried to push Matt Bevin (R) not to launch a primary challenge, National Review reports.
Said one adviser to Bevin: “Mitch McConnell’s people reached out to Matt for several months through all different avenues trying to convince him not to run. They can pretend like they’re not afraid, they can call him a nuisance, but they were desperate not to have him. Because they are scared.”
He added: “First they tried to threaten him and then they tried to dangle shiny political prizes.”
Bayh Has More Campaign Funds Than 98 Sitting Senators
Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) “has $9.8 million in his campaign account — a total more befitting a national office-seeker than an ex-senator who exited political life more than 30 months ago,” Bloomberg reports.
“Bayh, who has a bigger campaign treasury than 98 of 100 current senators, is among some former members of Congress who have significant surplus campaign funds. They could tap the funds to run for political office again. They’re also permitted to donate money in unlimited amounts to national party committees or charities.”
Weiner Acknowledges New Lewd Messages
Anthony Weiner responded to new explicit messages and images that “were sent to an anonymous tipster by the former congressman after he was forced to resign two years ago when similar messages became public,” Politicker reports.
Said Weiner: “I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have. These things that I did were wrong and hurtful to my wife and caused us to go through challenges in our marriage that extended past my resignation from Congress.”
King Suggests Most Immigrants Traffic Drugs
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told Newsmax that for every valedictorian DREAMer who has been brought to this country by his or her family, “…there’s another 100 out there who, they weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Those people would be legalized with the same act.”
