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The Minnesota House will hold a final floor vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“House Speaker Paul Thissen (D) said he would not bring the measure up for a floor vote until he was certain it had the votes to pass. The Senate is expected to take up the measure soon after. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is a supporter of same-sex marriage and said he will sign the proposal into law.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts finds former Sen. Scott Brown (R) leads every potential challenger in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race.
The poll might suggest to Brown he would be better off running for governor than challenging Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in New Hampshire, a possibility he’s hinted at in recent weeks.
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) announced that he will not run for Senate, “leaving Democrats without a top candidate for now in the party’s best pickup opportunity in 2014,” Roll Call reports.
“Several other Democrats have been named as potential candidates. They include Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn; former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, who ran in 2008; state Rep. Scott Holcomb; Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr.; and former Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who ran for governor in 2010.”
“As the administration struggles to put in place the final, complex piece of President Obama’s signature health care law, an endeavor on a scale not seen since Medicare’s creation nearly a half-century ago, Democrats are worried that major snags will be exploited by Republicans in next year’s midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.
“For the third time, Republicans are trying to make the law perhaps the biggest issue of the elections, and are preparing to exploit every problem that arises. After many unsuccessful efforts to repeal the law, the Republican-led House plans another vote soon. And Republican governors or legislatures in many states are balking at participating, leaving Washington responsible for the marketplaces.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was born in Canada and his eligibility to run for president hinges over whether he is legally a “natural born” citizen, Noam Scheiber notes.
“The consensus among legal experts appears to be, emphatically, yes… But it turns out that there’s at least one legal heavyweight who would question Spiro’s argument–a guy who goes by the name of … Ted Cruz.”
Joshua Green says tonight’s special election result in South Carolina isn’t that important.
“So while today’s special election offers plenty of entertainment, it has about as much political import as any other reality TV show where the participants mostly embarrass themselves.”
Now available for pre-order: A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider’s Account by Gabriel Schoenfeld.
A fascinating look at what went wrong with Mitt Romney’s White House bid.
The Week reports Rush Limbaugh is threatening to leave Cumulus Media after the company blamed him for declining revenue.
“If Limbaugh walks — his contract ends this year — Cumulus will lose the No. 1 rated talk radio program in the country, probably to rival syndicator Clear Channel. Limbaugh would lose access to 40 radio stations, including his flagship channel, New York’s WABC.”
“She’s taking a role in the foundation, she’s writing books, she’s having a little fun being a private citizen for the first time in 20 years.”
— Former president Bill Clinton, quoted by the Washington Post, asking for everyone to give her a break over 2016 presidential speculation.
“Facing a wave of intense criticism and plunging poll numbers after opposing a bill to expand background checks on gun purchases, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte tried some damage control in an op-ed published Monday,” Politico reports.
Wrote Ayotte: “Some of my colleagues want to expand the broken background check system we have now. In my view, we shouldn’t be expanding a flawed system. The focus should be on fixing the existing system, which criminals are flouting.”
First Read says today’s special election in South Carolina is a race “that appears to signify, well, nothing, especially as it relates to 2014 and 2016. If Sanford wins — in a district where Mitt Romney beat President Obama by 18 percentage points, 58%-40% — it will be due simply to the district’s GOP tilt. And if Colbert Busch wins, it will be due simply to Sanford’s flaws and past baggage.”
Charlie Cook: “If Sanford wins by any kind of margin, it means that Republican voters simply held their noses and voted for him anyway. If Colbert Busch wins, it most likely means that a lot of Republicans chose to stay home rather than vote for either a candidate whom they thoroughly disapprove of or one with whom they thoroughly disagree.”
In case you were wondering, Lloyd Grove confirms Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), who has kept out of the spotlight for the last several months, is indeed running for U.S. Senate.
“He told me he has been interviewing potential campaign managers and other senior staffers in recent days and that he plans to raise $10 million by next January in hopes of discouraging other prospective candidates–such as Rep. Frank Pallone of the Jersey Shore and State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver–from opposing him in the Democratic primary.”
“In the dark arts of political campaigns known as oppo research, the most basic tools of the trade include campaign finance reports, arrest records, lawsuits, old newspaper clips,” the Daily Beast reports.
“In Virginia, though, it seems as if all it takes to embarrass the opposing campaign is a working library card.”
“Over the past week, Republican operatives have been barely able to contain their glee as they email out select passages from What a Party!: My Life Among Democrats, Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, And Other Wild Animals, the memoir by Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, top fundraiser and ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and now the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told CNN “he is willing to reverse his opposition to expanding background checks for guns if the Senate sponsors change on the bill’s provision dealing with internet sales.”
“Flake said the only reason he voted no was because of his concern that the requirement for background checks on internet sales is too costly and inconvenient, given the way guns are often sold among friends in his state of Arizona and others.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids,” he revealed to the New York Post.
Said Christie: “I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years. For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”
“He declined to say how much he lost, but sources said he has already shed nearly 40 pounds.”
First Read: “Remember, Christie had previously said that his health was prettty good… In fact, he called himself one of the healthiest fat guys in the
country. So if this is for health reasons, then he wasn’t totally
forthright before. For what it’s worth, we know the issue of his weight
has been discussed with him by supporters and consultants as a political
issue, and that it’s something he needed to deal with in some form if
he ever did decide to run for national office.”
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) “has passed the 100-day mark in the Senate, but he’s still waiting for an office,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
“Currently he’s working in a bunker-like office down the hall from former Sen. Olympia Snowe’s large office suite.”
“King says he originally questioned why he had to wait. After all, there are 100 senators and there should be 100 offices. He says he’s not one to mess with such mysterious Senate traditions, but that he’s looking forward to his new digs in space that was occupied by Scott Brown of Massachusetts.”
Former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker (R) “is taking steps to run for the U.S. Senate, saying he would vote only for legislation that’s constitutional and would pattern himself after tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Rand Paul,” the Des Moines Register reports.
“Republicans have been struggling to find someone willing to take on
the challenge of running to replace U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran
Democrat who is retiring in 2014.”
“Voters in South Carolina’s first congressional district head to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to offer former Gov. Mark Sanford a chance at political redemption, or instead send the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert to Congress,” NBC News reports.
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”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— 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.