New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono’s (D) campaign war chest “is so skimpy she may not generate enough contributions to secure all of her public matching funds for the primary or general election,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.
McDonnell Cabinet Member Also Received Gifts
When Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) traveled to South Carolina in January 2012 to endorse Mitt Romney for president and later to the GOP convention, Secretary of the Commonwealth Janet Vestal Kelly flew each place separately, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“Both of the Cabinet official’s trips were provided by Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie R. Williams Sr., whose gifts to McDonnell, the governor’s family and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have come under public scrutiny in the past five weeks.”
Hollywood Conservative Unmasked
The Guardian reports that David Stein and his organization, Republican Party Animals, “drew hundreds to regular events in and around Los Angeles, making him a darling of conservative blogs and talkshows. That he made respected documentaries on the Holocaust added intellectual cachet and Jewish support to Stein’s cocktail of politics, irreverence and rock and roll.”
“There was just one problem. Stein was not who he claimed. His real name can be revealed for the first time publicly – a close circle of confidants only found out the truth recently – as David Cole. And under that name he was once a reviled Holocaust revisionist who questioned the existence of Nazi gas chambers. He changed identities in January 1998.”
“Cole’s brazen reinvention as a social networker and political pundit deceived a roll-call of conservative politicians, filmmakers, journalists and broadcasters who had no clue about his past.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“South Carolina is the land of strange politics. You never know quite what’s coming in the last week of a campaign.”
— Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), quoted by the Los Angeles Times, who is running in Tuesday’s special congressional election.
Off-the-Cuff Obama Comment Put U.S. in Bind on Syria
“Confronted with evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, President Obama now finds himself in a geopolitical box, his credibility at stake with frustratingly few good options,” the New York Times reports.
“The origins of this dilemma can be traced in large part to a weekend last August, when alarming intelligence reports suggested the besieged Syrian government might be preparing to use chemical weapons. After months of keeping a distance from the conflict, Mr. Obama felt he had to become more directly engaged.”
“Moving or using large quantities of chemical weapons would cross a ‘red line’ and ‘change my calculus,’ the president declared in response to a question at a news conference, to the surprise of some of the advisers who had attended the weekend meetings and wondered where the ‘red line’ came from. With such an evocative phrase, the president had defined his policy in a way some advisers wish they could take back.”
Quote of the Day
“We will never surrender our guns, never.”
— The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre, quoted by NBC News, who added that recent mass shootings have been used “to blame us, to shame us, to compromise our freedom for their agenda.”
Cuccinelli Grabs Early Lead in Virginia
A new Washington Post poll in Virginia finds Ken Cuccinelli (R) has an early lead over Terry McAuliffe (D) in their race for governor, 46% to 41% among all voters and 51% to 41% among those voters certain to cast a ballot.
However, the poll also found that barely 10% say they are following the campaign “very closely” and that nearly half of the electorate says they’re either undecided or could change their minds.
University is the Last Refuge After Political Scandal
New York Times: “The traditional path to an academic job is long and laborious: the solitude and penury of graduate study, the scramble for one of the few open positions in each field, the blood sport of competitive publishing. But while colleges have always courted accomplished public figures, a leap to the front of the class has now become a natural move for those who have suffered spectacular career flameouts.”
Top South Carolina Democrat Accused of Racist Comment
South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Dick Harpootlian “drew GOP ire” when he told Democrats that he hoped voters voters would send Gov. Nikki Haley (R) “back to wherever the hell she came from,” a comment many Republicans viewed as racist, given the governor’s Indian heritage, The State reports.
Harpootlian said later he meant “Lexington County,” where Haley lived before becoming governor.
Quote of the Day
“The GOP that’s leading us – we don’t know where they’re taking us, but they’re raping us along the way.”
— North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Randy Voller, quoted by WRAL-TV.
Cruz Fuels Presidential Buzz
“He has spent less than six months in the U.S. Senate, but Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) fueled speculation about his broader national political ambitions Friday night with a coveted speaking role at a state Republican Party dinner in the early primary state of South Carolina,” the Washington Post reports.
Politico: “With this litany of conservative touchstones and more, Cruz drew round after round of applause Friday night here at the South Carolina GOP’s Silver Elephant Dinner, an annual fundraising event that routinely hosts aspiring presidential candidates. It remains to be seen whether Cruz’s keynote speech represents an early step toward seeking the presidency.”
Senate Candidates Wanted
New York Times: “The dearth of candidates for an open Senate seat reflects what former and current senators and those who once aspired to the office say is a sad truth: rarely has the thought of serving in the Senate seemed so unappealing.”
“Once considered an apex of national politics second only to the presidency, the ‘greatest deliberative body in the world’ is so riven by partisanship and gummed up by its own arcane rules that potential candidates from Georgia to Kentucky, Iowa to Montana are loudly saying, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.'”
“Add to that the cost of getting there — which can include fighting off special interests and ‘super PACs’ from your own party, exhausting criticism from the increasingly partisan news media, and prohibitive campaign expenses — and a Senate seat no longer seems so grand.”
Parnell Will Seek Re-Election in Alaska
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) announced plans to seek re-election next year, saying he believes he can be more effective in that role than in pursuing a U.S. Senate bid, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
UNC-Chapel Hill Offers MPA Program in Online Format
The online Master of Public
Administration (MPA) program at the top-ranked School of Government at
the University for North Carolina at Chapel Hill aims to shape leaders
in public service, a field that is expected to grow in visibility and
importance over the next decade and beyond. The MPA@UNC
program is designed with working professionals in mind, offering the
accessibility and flexibility of online education with the best of UNC’s
on-campus experience, including a virtual classroom setting, to
effectively teach tomorrow’s public service leaders.
“There is a critical need for leadership in government and public
service throughout our country,” said Todd Nicolet, associate dean for
operations and director of MPA@UNC. “With an online format, we are able
to reach students regardless of their geographic location–creating an
even more diverse student body. As part of MPA@UNC, students gain a
unique opportunity to interact with classmates in different parts of the
country, offering new perspectives in addition to classroom learning,
which they bring back to benefit the organizations and communities in
which they work.”
To request more information, visit http://requestinfo.onlinempa.unc.edu. (Sponsored Post)
King Passes on Senate Run
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) announced that he would not run for U.S. Senate from Iowa in 2014.
“This week, I made a simple device to put toothpaste back in the tube. But a device to put the Leftist genie back in the bottle is not so simple. The best tool we have now is the majority in the U.S. House which functions mostly to keep the Leftist genie in the bottle. I cannot, in good conscience, turn my back on the destiny decisions of Congress today in order to direct all my efforts to a Senate race for next year, while hoping to gain the leverage to put the genie back in the bottle in 2015.”
Markey Holds Single Digit Lead
An Emerson College Polling Institute survey in Massachusetts finds Rep. Ed Markey (D) with a six-point lead over Gabriel Gomez (R) in the special election race for U.S. Senate, 42% to 36%.
Franken Gets Wealthy Challenger
Mike McFadden (R), a wealthy Minneapolis finance executive appears poised to enter the race against first-term Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Politico reports.
“McFadden did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but made it clear last month that he is interested in the Senate race. He told Minnesota Public Radio in early April that he was ‘in the process of talking with my family, friends, colleagues and party leaders’ about a bid against Franken.”
Watch Rick Perry Shoot a Semi-Automatic Assult Rifle
The Week has the video.
