Roll Call: “Not a single House member has announced they will retire in 2014, but first-quarter fundraising reports indicate some may be headed in that direction.”
Former Bachmann Aide to Break Silence
GOP operative Andy Parrish, a former chief of staff to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), “is expected to tell an Iowa Senate ethics panel that her 2012 presidential campaign made improper payments to its state chairman,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“Parrish’s willingness to go public against his former employer and political mentor is likely to send shock waves through Minnesota GOP circles, where both he and his attorney are well-known figures.”
Musharraf Flees After Judge Orders His Arrest
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was forced to flee a courtroom “moments after judges ordered his arrest, dealing a fresh blow to hopes of reviving his political career at next month’s general elections,” Reuters reports.
“Musharraf’s hasty exit from the Islamabad High Court seemed to symbolize the diminished influence of a former army chief who once dominated Pakistan’s political landscape, but whose bid to stage a triumphal comeback has garnered widespread scorn.”
A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip
Gabrielle Giffords: “Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on.”
How Jenny Sanford Sabotaged Mark’s Comeback
Jason Zengerle: “Indeed, while Jenny has never come out and publicly opposed Mark’s congressional candidacy — choosing to remain officially neutral — she’s waged a brutally effective passive-aggressive campaign against it. Whether it was revealing to me that Mark had shamelessly asked her to manage his election bid; or telling the Washington Post that, until the night Mark’s fiancée showed up onstage at his victory party in April, one of her sons had never met the woman; or just generally making it known that she is furious that he’s running, Jenny has done a masterful job of keeping her ex-husband’s past (and not-so-past) transgressions in the news. She has seeded the ground with political land mines, stood back, and waited for Mark to step on one.”
Sanford Accused of Violating Divorce Terms Before
In addition to a trespassing complaint, Jenny Sanford has accused former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) of shirking their divorce agreement on at least three other occasions, the Washington Post reports.
“She filed a complaint against him in March 2012 for violating the terms of having their sons on the Sanford family’s Coosaw plantation. The terms state that ‘no airplanes will be flown at the children.’ She has also accused him of failing to properly insure the property and of missing a child support payment.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I see this as just Round One.”
— President Obama, speaking after defeat of an expanded gun background check bill in the Senate.
Senate Torpedoes Background Check Deal
The Senate failed to advance a bipartisan background check proposal that Democrats had hoped would be the core of any bill, Roll Call reports.
The background check legislation received only 54 votes, six short of the 60 needed to clear a threatened filibuster.
National Journal: “But don’t call this good news for Obama’s enemies, at least not yet,
because under new rules of politics that are still being written, the
victory could be Pyrrhic. In an era of voter empowerment and surprise,
the GOP’s opposition to a popular gun regulation could backfire.”
Lawmaker Says Gays Cause Health Risks
Iowa State Sen. Dennis Guth (R) said the media has “bamboozled” the public into a growing acceptance of gay relationships and argues his family faces “multiple health risks” because of sexually transmitted infections he says are associated with a gay lifestyle, the Mason City Globe Gazette reports.
Radio Iowa quotes Guth: “If I saw someone going the wrong way on a one-way street, I would make every effort to stop and redirect them.”
What Happened to Dick Morris?
He’s hosting a radio show in Philadelphia, the Philly Post reports.
“Local radio station WPHT, for mysterious reasons, has handed its afternoon drive-time radio show over to a man who’s never hosted a radio show, has no ties to Philadelphia save for a few long-ago political consultancy gigs, and whose credibility–for a myriad of reasons–is at an all-time low…”
“I listened to the entire first show on Monday, and while I admit I was skeptical about his chances at success before I listened, after the first day, I’m even more skeptical. And that was before Morris leapt to the conclusion, minutes after the Boston Marathon bombing, that Obama policy must be to blame.”
Sanford Sons Met His Girlfriend at Victory Party
The Washington Post has learned that tensions within former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R) family “flared up as recently as April 2, at the celebration of Sanford’s runoff election victory when the former governor thrust two of his sons on-stage with the Argentine woman who was at the center of the spectacular sex scandal that broke up his marriage.”
It was the first time Sanford’s teenage son Bolton he had ever been in the presence of Maria Belen Chapur.
Jenny Sanford confirmed: “That was indeed Bolton’s first intro and both boys were quite upset and visibly so.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I am the senator. You are the citizen. You need to be quiet.”
— North Carolina State Senator Tommy Tucker (R), quoted by the Raleigh News and Observer, to Goldsboro News-Argus publisher Hal Tanner who was opposing legislation to change public notice requirements for local government.
Republicans Pull Plug on Sanford
National Republicans “are pulling the plug on Mark Sanford’s suddenly besieged congressional campaign,” Politico reports, “a potentially fatal blow” to his campaign against Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D).
“Blindsided by news that Sanford’s ex-wife has accused him of trespassing and concluding he has no plausible path to victory, the National Republican Congressional Committee has decided not to spend more money on Sanford’s behalf ahead of the May 7 special election.”
The Week: Is Sanford sunk?
New Zealand Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill
New Zealand is set to become the one of the latest nations to allow same-sex marriage after the country’s Parliament passed a bill legalizing the practice, CNN reports.
MP Maurice Williamson gave a remarkable speech in support of the bill.
Sanford Complaint Documents
A Political Wire reader in South Carolina forwards the leaked documents that show former Gov. Mark Sanford (R) was ordered to explain why he should not be held “in contempt of court” at a hearing two days after the special congressional election.
The complaint refers to a “pattern of entering” his ex-wife’s house. Sanford has only admitted to doing so once to watch a football game with his son.
Why New Gun Controls Are Headed for Defeat
The Cloakroom has five reasons.
Sanford Explains Trespassing Charges
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) issued a statement explaining the trespassing charges against him:
“It’s an unfortunate reality that divorced couples sometimes have disagreements that spill over into family court. I did indeed watch the second half of the Super Bowl at the beach house with our 14 year old son because as a father I didn’t think he should watch it alone. Given she was out of town I tried to reach her beforehand to tell her of the situation that had arisen, and met her at the back steps under the light of my cell phone when she returned and told her what had happened.”
“There is always another side to every story, and while I am particularly curious how records that were sealed to avoid the boys dealing with embarrassment are now somehow exposed less than three weeks before this election, I agree with Jenny that the media is no place to debate what is ultimately a family court matter, and out of respect for Jenny and the boys, I’m not going to have any further comment at this time.”
Gohmert Says Islamic Terrorists Trained to Act Hispanic
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) claimed that Islamic terrorists were training to pretend to be Latino in order to infiltrate the United States, the Huffington Post reports.
Said Gohmert: “We know Al Qaeda has camps over with the drug cartels on the other side of the Mexican border. We know that people that are now being trained to come in and act like Hispanic when they are radical Islamists. We know these things are happening. It is just insane not to protect ourselves, to make sure that people come in as most people do.”
