Alex Sink (D) “said she hasn’t ruled out taking another shot” at Flordia Gov. Rick Scott (R) but “said one of the largest factors in her decision right now is whether she could see herself taking on the race without” her late husband Bill McBride (D), the News-Press reports.
Quinn Prepares to Hit Back
Christine Quinn, “whose lead in the New York mayoral race appears to have narrowed after weeks of attacks from her rivals, plans to push back on Monday, arguing in what her campaign is billing as a major speech that she is more qualified and more gutsy than the other Democratic contenders,” the New York Times reports.
“The speech appears to signify a shift in Ms. Quinn’s approach after a period in which the race has been altered by the entrance of former Representative Anthony D. Weiner, who rivals Ms. Quinn for name recognition, although some of his notoriety comes from his sending sexually explicit messages and images to women he did not know.”
Schweitzer Planning Senate Bid
Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) “is laying the groundwork to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Max Baucus in Montana, and looks very much like a candidate,” the Missoulian reports.
Said one Democratic insider: “I would be shocked if he didn’t announce (soon) that he’s a candidate.”
The GOP’s Sleeper Presidential Candidate
Beth Reinhard: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker polls near the bottom of would-be
presidential contenders. Unlike potential rivals, you won’t find him on
the cover of Time magazine or slow-jamming the news with comedian Jimmy
Fallon. But he’s a conservative Republican who won election in a blue
state, survived a brutal recall campaign, and now posts approval ratings
over 50 percent. A budget-slashing chief executive and son of a Baptist
minister who straddles the fiscal and social conservative camps. A
proven fundraiser who has put his thumb in the eye of President Obama
and Big Labor. He’s poised to be the sleeper Republican presidential
candidate of 2016.”
Another Remap in Texas?
Roll Call: “When the Supreme Court takes on a key part of a voting rights law
later this month, Texas Democrats will be watching more closely than
anyone on Capitol Hill. The high court’s ruling could affect whether,
and how, the congressional boundaries in the state will be revised — yet
again.”
Does Iran’s Election Matter?
Hassan Rowhani, the most moderate candidate in Iran’s presidential election, won with surprisingly large margins.
New York Times:
“But while the election of the new president, Hassan Rowhani, a former
nuclear negotiator who is considered a moderate compared with the other
candidates, was greeted by some administration officials as the best of
all likely outcomes, they said it did not change the fact that only the
country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would make the final
decision about any concessions to the West. Even so, they said they
wanted to test Mr. Rowhani quickly, noting that although he argued for a
moderate tone in dealing with the United States and its allies when he
was a negotiator, he also boasted in 2006 that Iran had used a previous
suspension of nuclear enrichment to make.”
The Week: 4 things you should know about Iran’s new president.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“John’s been better than I’m used to. There have been fewer volcanic moments.”
— Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), quoted by the New Yorker, on working with Sen. John McCain on the bipartisan immigration bill.
Obama Approval Falls Amid Controversies
A new CNN/ORC poll finds President Obama’s approval rating dropped eight percentage points over the past month, to 45%, the president’s lowest rating in more than a year and a half.
Said pollster Keating Holland: “The drop in Obama’s support is fueled by a dramatic 17-point decline over the past month among people under 30, who, along with black Americans, had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition.”
Quote of the Day
“One of the worst abuses of power imaginable.”
— Vice President Dick Cheney, quoted by National Journal, on the IRS targetting of conservative groups.
Graham Says GOP Is In a Death Spiral
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who helped write a bipartisan immigration bill under debate in the Senate, said “conservatives who are trying to block the measure will doom the party and all but guarantee a Democrat will remain in the White House after 2016’s election,” the AP reports.
Said Graham: “If we don’t pass immigration reform, if we don’t get it off the table in a reasonable, practical way, it doesn’t matter who you run in 2016. We’re in a demographic death spiral as a party and the only way we can get back in good graces with the Hispanic community in my view is pass comprehensive immigration reform. If you don’t do that, it really doesn’t matter who we run in my view.”
UK Monitored Politicians At G20 Summit
“Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts,” according to documents seen by the Guardian. “Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their email traffic.”
“The revelation comes as Britain prepares to host another summit on Monday – for the G8 nations, all of whom attended the 2009 meetings which were the object of the systematic spying.”
News Coverage Conveys Momentum for Gay Marriage
A new Pew Research study finds the news media coverage has provided a strong sense of momentum towards legalizing same-sex marriage. Stories with more statements supporting same-sex marriage outweighed those with more statements opposing it by a margin of roughly 5-to-1.
Czech Leader Will Resign Over Scandal
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas will resign in the wake of a political scandal that has swept up his closest aide, the BBC reports.
“Pressure had been growing on Mr Necas to quit since prosecutors on Friday charged his chief of staff Jana Nagyova with corruption and abuse of power. Two former MPs, an ex-minister and the current and former heads of military intelligence have also been detained.”
Cuomo’s Favorability Fades a Little
A new Siena poll in New York finds Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) favorability at 58% to 34%, the lowest since he’s been governor.
Markey Maintains Solid Lead Over Gomez
A new Boston Globe poll finds Rep. Edward Markey (D) holds a solid lead over rival Gabriel Gomez (R), 54% to 41%, as the two enter the final week of the special U.S. Senate campaign.
When you include voters who said they haven’t yet made up their minds but are leaning toward a candidate, the race tightens slightly, with 54% favoring Markey and 43% favoring Gomez.
Senators in Marriage of Convenience
The New York Times notes the iciness between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “has been replaced by a powerful force in politics: expedience.”
“Mr. McConnell, 71, the embodiment of Washington establishment, and Mr. Paul, 50, a grass-roots insurgent who harbors a brightly burning presidential ambition for 2016, have formed an odd-couple, scratch-my-back alliance that stretches from Washington to Louisville. Some weeks, it can even seem that the balance of power has shifted between Kentucky’s junior and senior senators.”
Obama Caves on Syria
Andrew Sullivan: “Well, we don’t yet quite know what’s in the works – but once you start arming one side of a civil war, you become part of that civil war; the other side may target you; and as this sectarian conflict deepens across the region, the US will be seen as a Sunni power fighting Shiites. I cannot think of a worse policy position for this country – to take stand on the sectarian fault-line of the Muslim world and back one side over another. You think the other side won’t notice? You think Americans wouldn’t be targeted for this kind of meddling? Let Putin get bogged down in this hell, if he remains so 19th Century he feels he must. But we should have zero interest in that ancient religious dispute; zero.”
Confidence in Congress Hits All Time Low
David Hawkings flags a new Gallup survey which found that only 10% of those surveyed “described themselves as having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress, ranking it last on a list of 16 societal institutions for the fourth consecutive year. No institution has scored lower since Gallup started asking in 1973.”
“Underscoring the crisis of confidence, Congress was the only institution this year in which a majority expressed very little or no faith at all. The number was 52 percent; television news was the institution with the next most-pronounced lack of confidence, at 39 percent.”
