So when does Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) give us his farm?
Texas Lawmaker Raised $1 Million After Filibuster
Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D), who made national headliners by leading a filibuster against abortion legislation, raised almost $1 million in the final two weeks of June, the Texas Tribune reports.
“Davis, who is mulling a run for Texas governor in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, said in an interview … that if she jumps into the governor’s race, her ability to raise enough money to run a competitive statewide race will be ‘a key question.'”
The Most Conservative House in 60 Years
A new Brookings Institution analysis finds the last House of Representatives was the most conservative in more than 60 years.
Virginia First Lady Under Scrutiny
The Washington Post notes Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell’s “retreat from the spotlight has coincided with her emergence at the center of a growing investigation into gifts to her and her family from a wealthy businessman named Jonnie R. Williams Sr.”
“Some of Maureen McDonnell’s closest friends are surprised by the reports, saying she is as sweet as her public image. But some people she has worked with at the governor’s mansion and in state government paint a different portrait: one of someone unable to make the leap into the Richmond fishbowl… Those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid offending the governor and first lady, said Maureen McDonnell can be demanding and preoccupied with appearances — hers and that of the mansion.”
One interesting tidbit: “She has reduced maids and a state trooper to tears.”
Can the GOP Rescue Itself?
Harry Enten: “Is the Republican party heading for doom? My guess is Republican primary voters with a big assist from party insiders will solve the problem. There’s a tendency among many to think that Republican primary voters are the driving force behind the Republican party’s move to the right. The academic literature tends to dismiss that view. Moreover, there is a good bit of evidence to suggest that Republican presidential primary voters put one goal above pretty much all others: winning.”
GOP Mulls Removal of McDonnell
Jeff Schapiro notes that Republicans are contemplating the
resignation or even the forced removal of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) as he deals with a gifts scandal.
“Defending their majority this fall, House of Delegates Republicans will
cut and run on the first sign that McDonnell’s problems are becoming
theirs. Their survival instinct will demand it. An alarming harbinger
for Republicans: conservative bloggers, who had already turned against
McDonnell for raising taxes, report as fact that his resignation is
inevitable, part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. An administration
that ordinarily ignores the blogs did otherwise this time, issuing a
forceful denial. Should pressure intensify because of hostile public
opinion, fed by unflattering news reports that go unanswered by
McDonnell, House Republicans may have no option than to tell him he has
none: that it’s time for him to go.”
Spitzer Has a New Book Out
Anti-Abortion Movement Changes Tactics
Beth Reinhard: “Abortion opponents have turned to different tactics since the Supreme Court legalized most abortions half a century ago, from imposing 24-hour waiting periods to banning late-term procedures to requiring minors to get permission.”
“The anti-abortion movement’s success, however, stems in part from activists making the case that tougher clinic regulation is a mainstream cause to improve women’s safety… It’s a public relations strategy that seems to be working, even as an 11-hour fillibuster by Texas Sen. Wendy Davis has energized Democrats in her state. At a time when the Republican Party is trying to refute Democratic attacks that abortion limits constitute a ‘war on women,’ increasing regulations on clinics can be framed as a positive blow for public health.”
Why Republicans Think They’ll Win Senate Majority
“For the first time this year, Republican strategists believe they’re within striking distance of taking back control of the Senate, thanks to untimely Democratic Senate retirements and red-state Democratic recruits deciding not to run for Congress. The latest blow to Democrats: former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s surprising decision Saturday to pass up a campaign,” National Journal reports.
“Republican recognize that they only need to win three Senate seats in the most of conservative of states — Arkansas, Louisiana and Alaska — and Mitch McConnell could be a Majority Leader in 2015. (That is, if McConnell can hold onto his own Kentucky seat.) The latest developments underline how punishing the map is for Democrats for 2014, and little margin for error they have.”
“Democrats can afford to lose up to five Senate seats and still maintain their majority, but they already risk conceding over half that number before campaigning even gets underway.”
Sean Trende: “Republicans aren’t favored to win back the
Senate, but suddenly there is a pretty clear path forward.”
Menino Will Write Memoir
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) “has inked a deal to author a book chronicling his life, career, and long reign in City Hall’s corner office,” the Boston Globe reports.
Said Menino: “It’s a story of my 20 years as mayor, the things we’ve dealt with, and the changes we’ve seen.”
“The book will be co-written by Jack Beatty, an author and political analyst for public radio… He is the author of The Rascal King, published in 2000, which is considered the definitive account of former Boston mayor and Massachusetts governor James Michael Curley.”
Gomez Open to Another Run
Less than three weeks after losing a special US Senate election, Gabriel Gomez (R) said he is open to making another run for political office, the Boston Globe reports.
Said Gomez: “If something does pop up and I’ve got the same passion that I had for this last race, then I would be interested in it.”
He added: “Nothing is off the table.”
How Clinton Changed Gender Politics
E.J. Dionne: “What’s obvious to everyone is that Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming Democratic favorite, if she decides to get in… The last time, she had to persuade the party. This time, the party wants to persuade her.”
“Clinton’s gender is certainly relevant to the desire of so many who want her nominated. She would, indeed, appeal to women of diverse political views who want to break the presidential glass ceiling. But support for Clinton has at least as much to do with hard-core calculations that she could win because of her wide experience, her likely strength among working-class voters and her sheer endurance in the face of tests that few other politicians have had to confront.”
Transparency Suffers as State Department Fails to Report
Bloomberg News last year asked for the travel expenses for the heads of 57 major departments in fiscal 2011, a test of President Obama’s pledge to run the most open government in history.
“The State Department is one of five Cabinet offices that have yet to fully comply with requests under the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the details and expenses of official travel more than a year after they were filed.”
Schweitzer’s Ties to Dark Money Exposed
Great Falls Tribune: “Two weeks after news reports first linked former Gov. Brian Schweitzer to a pair of mysterious dark money political groups, a Tribune investigation shows Schweitzer’s ties to those groups are deeper than a top political consultant let on.”
Reid Says Low Approval Justifies Nuclear Option
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that filibuster reform is needed in Congress because it has a lower approval rating that North Korea, The Hill reports.
Said Reid: “Is there anyone out there in the real world that believes that what’s going on in Congress of the United States is good? Our approval rating is lower than North Korea’s.”
The Fix: Is Reid bluffing?
Reid-McConnell Relationship Disintegrates
“The once-collegial relationship between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell has collapsed into a free-for-all of name-calling, finger-pointing and mutual mistrust,” Politico reports.
“The tension is growing as McConnell emerges as one of the Democrats’ top targets in 2014 and as the two men collide over an unprecedented change to Senate filibuster rules. The ill will and bitter feelings have never been more intense nor meant more to the Senate…The leaders are clashing because each believes the other is destroying the integrity of the institution, where they have spent nearly 60 collective years and taken similar paths to power.”
Washington Post: “The U.S. Senate, once considered the most exclusive and chummiest club in America, has in recent years been transformed into an ideological war zone, where comity and compromise have lost their allure, while confrontation and showmanship now pay big dividends.”
Abbot Declares Bid for Texas Governor
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) announced his candidacy for governor declaring that he figuratively and literally has a spine of steel, the Austin American Statesman reports.
Explained Abbot: “On a steamy summer day like this, I went out for a jog. While I was jogging a huge oak tree suddenly crashed down on me. The falling tree crushed my spinal cord — piercing my body with pain — leaving me forever paralyzed. I would never walk again.”
Noting that doctors had to insert steel rods along his vertebrae, he added: “Some politicians talk about having a spine of steel. I actually have one. I will use my steel spine to fight for you and every Texas family.”
Quote of the Day
“The evidence didn’t support prosecution and the Justice Department engaged in this, the President engaged in this and turned it into a political issue that should have been handled exclusively with law and order.”
— Rep. Steve King (R-IA), in an interview on Fox News Sunday, arguing that George Zimmerman should never have been tried for the killing of Trayvon Martin.
