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Mark Sanford debated a cardboard cutout of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Charleston City Paper: “Acting as a stand-in, Sanford says, for his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the former governor peppered posterboard Pelosi with questions ranging from unions, to the stimulus, to the federal budget.”
“I’m not going to let that tool go unused.”
— Anthony Weiner, quoted by the New York Observer, on why he’s using Twitter again despite his rocky history with the social media network.
Jimmy McMillan is back and running for mayor of New York City. And he’s got a rap video to kick off his campaign.
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Anthony Weiner “ended his slow-and-steady approach to media appearances today, granting at least four on-camera interviews with ABC7, NBC 4, CBS and RNN-TV. Despite flooding the airwaves, the former congressman insisted he has yet to decide whether he’ll ultimately make a high-profile mayoral bid this year. However, he did vow to make the decision in the near future,” Politicker reports.
Said Weiner: “In political terms, it’s as Yogi Berra would say, ‘It’s getting late early.’ I’ve going to decide soon. It’s going to be a matter of days or weeks. It can’t be a matter of months, that’s for sure.”
He also admitted “that there could still be more embarrassing photos of himself out there.”
The Week: “If history is an indicator, talk of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — affectionately known as ‘Nerd Prom’ — is about to set Washington atwitter.”
“And the fact that journalists are willing to own the nerd word (even ironically) speaks volumes about how far nerddom has come in recent decades.”
“House Republicans pulled a controversial health care bill from the
floor Wednesday, after a strenuous attempt by leaders to secure enough
votes for its passage failed. It’s the latest instance of Speaker John
A. Boehner’s difficulties in controlling his unruly conference,” Roll Call reports.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed into law the final piece of a six-year effort to rewrite state laws using gender-neutral vocabulary, replacing terms such as “fisherman” and “freshman” with “fisher” and “first-year student,” Reuters reports.
“Lawmakers have passed a series of bills since 2007 to root out gender bias from Washington statutes, though a 1983 state mandate required that all laws be written in gender-neutral terms unless a specification of gender was intended.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) now has an upside down approval rating with 44% of voters giving her good marks and 46% disapproving. That’s down a net 15 points from October, when she had a 48% approval with 35% disapproving.
Key finding: 75% of New Hampshire voters support gun background checks and 50% of voters in the state say Ayotte’s vote against them will make them less likely to support her in a future election, compared to just 23% who consider it to be a positive.
The Cloakroom: Was George W. Bush the worst president ever?
The Week: Is Bush’s re-emergence good for the Republican party?
David Catanese says that Ken Cuccinelli (R) could be the GOP’s next big
star if he wins Virginia’s gubernatorial race this fall.
“If indeed he’s able
to dispatch former Democratic National Committee chairman and
uber-fundraiser Terry McAuliffe just as Republicans are enduring a
wrenching period of soul-searching about their identity, his timing
could be impeccable. He has the social conservative street cred of Rick
Santorum, speaks the libertarian language of Rand Paul, and brandishes
the constitutional acumen of Ted Cruz. And if he captures the
governorship, odds are he’ll have a longer list of tangible achievements
in two years than Marco Rubio racks up in five. He’ll also, surely,
have a longer list of controversies.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), “who previously has said he was in his ex-wife’s home Feb.
3 because he didn’t want his youngest son to watch the Super Bowl
alone, said Tuesday for the first time that a second son was at the
home, too,” The State reports.
Foreign Policy:
“Ron Paul’s vibrant fan base is in open rebellion today over Rand
Paul’s perceived reversal on domestic drone strikes. The Kentucky
senator, whose famous 13-hour Senate floor filibuster did much to
strengthen his ties with his father’s hardcore following, told Fox
Business Network on Tuesday he’s OK with drone strikes on American
citizens who, for instance, rob a liquor store. ‘I’ve never argued
against any technology being used when you have an imminent threat, an
active crime going on,’ Paul said. ‘If someone comes out of a liquor
store with a weapon and fifty dollars in cash. I don’t care if a drone
kills him or a policeman kills him.'”
Paul later released a statement: “My comments last night left the mistaken impression that my position on drones had changed. Let me be clear: it has not.
A group of Republicans is up with a TV ad selling immigration reform to Republicans. The Tampa Bay Times reports “the seven-figure ad buy will air statewide in Florida, plus markets in Texas, Utah, North Carolina, Iowa, and Kentucky.”
First Read: “If you wanted another example how the GOP establishment is fully behind
immigration reform, it’s this ad. More importantly, the ad is targeted
in states with key Republican senators who could either torpedo
immigration (Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul), or help it get to 75 votes
(Orrin Hatch, John Cornyn, Richard Burr, Mitch McConnell, Chuck
Grassley).”
“Republican strategists and some lawmakers pressing for immigration changes have been privately lobbying lawmakers to clean up their rhetoric as Congress begins considering a revision of immigration laws,” Bloomberg reports.
“That means phrases such as ‘amnesty’ for ‘illegals’ or ‘aliens’ and ‘anchor babies,’ a reference to U.S.-born children of immigrants lacking proper authorization, are mostly out. Terms such as ‘undocumented immigrants,’ for those without legal standing, providing a way to obtain ‘earned legal status,’ and fixing a ‘broken system’ are in.”
“I just don’t want to die with my boots on.”
— Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), quoted by the Billings Gazette, explaining his decision to retire in 2014 and not run for re-election.
Pew Research: “The key Senate vote that halted gun control legislation last week is drawing a mixed reaction from the American public: 47% express negative feelings about the vote while 39% have a positive reaction to the Senate’s rejection of gun control legislation that included background checks on gun purchases. Overall, 15% say they are angry this legislation was voted down and 32% say they are disappointed. On the other side, 20% say are very happy the legislation was blocked, while 19% say they are relieved.”
Former President George W. Bush had an awkward exchange when asked what his relationship was like with former Vice President Dick Cheney since leaving the White House, Politico reports.
Said Bush: “You know it’s been cordial — but he lives in Washington and we live in Dallas. One of the saddest things about departing Washington is that you miss your pals and a lot of people were there for all eight years and I became good friends with them, like Vice President Cheney.”
Bush, apparently feeling the need to say more, continued: “You know, I just I don’t see him — much. And I don’t see many of the people I worked with much and it’s kind of sad. It’s great to be in Texas, however.”
“While the focus of debate in Washington has been on tightening gun restrictions, states like Arkansas have embarked on the opposite route in embracing their firearms,” the Daily Beast reports.
“According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 15 states have enacted some 31 laws regarding guns so far in 2013. Of them, more than 80 percent increase gun rights by, among other things, allowing owners to carry their guns in more places and making it easier for applicants to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon.”
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.
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