Political Wire

Consultants Cash In on Palin

March 29, 2013 at 7:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Avlon notes Sarah Palin attempted to relaunch her political career this week with a new video which railed against “the big consultants, the big money men, and the big bad media.”

“But there’s an irony alert ahead: the current stated purpose of SarahPAC is to raise money ahead of the 2014 election–most of which will be spent on conservative consultants.”

“Seen through the lens of the invaluable Center for Responsive Politics, Palin’s PAC spent $5.1 million in the last election cycle (more than it raised in that time period, raising some questions about Palin’s claims of fiscal responsibility). But the real news comes when you look at how donors’ money was actually doled out: just $298,500 to candidates. The bulk of the rest of it, more than $4.8 million, went to–you guessed it–consultants.”

GOP Lawmaker Refers to Latinos Using Racial Slur

March 29, 2013 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Don Young (R-AK), in an interview with KRBD, referred to Latinos by using the derogatory term “wetbacks.”

Said Young: “My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50 or 60 wetbacks and — to pick tomatoes. You know, it takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”

According to the Washington Post, Young later released a statement: “I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California. I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect.”

Limbaugh Declares Defeat on Gay Marriage

March 28, 2013 at 6:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rush Limbaugh said those who oppose same-sex marriage must accept that they’ve “lost the issue.”

Said Limbaugh: “This issue is lost. I don’t care what the Supreme Court does, this is now inevitable — and it’s inevitable because we lost the language on this.”

He added that conservatives “lost the issue when we started allowing the word ‘marriage’ to be bastardized and redefined by simply adding words to it.”

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Craig Loses Major Battle in Fight with FEC

March 28, 2013 at 6:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Roll Call: “A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit in which former Sen. Larry Craig is accused of improperly using campaign funds in a quest to vacate his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport bathroom sting.”

“The judge didn’t buy Craig’s contention that his travel to the airport
restroom was a part of his official duties because he was en route to
his state, and therefore he was entitled to use his campaign account.”

Nevada Expels Troubled Lawmaker

March 28, 2013 at 3:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a voice vote masking how each individual lawmaker sided, the Nevada Assembly made the unprecedented decision to expel one of their own members — troubled Assemblyman Steven Brooks (D),” the Las Vegas Sun reports.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

March 28, 2013 at 3:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“What is this homophobic strain in our party?”

— Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY), in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, saying the GOP needed to “get over its hangup on gay rights.”

A Very White Republican Party Plans Minority Outreach

March 28, 2013 at 3:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

McKay Coppins: “As the Republican Party gears up to launch a concerted, well-funded outreach effort aimed at attracting elusive minority voters, it’s not just battling dismal poll numbers and tough demographic trends — it’s working to overcome its own overwhelming whiteness.”

“There is not a single racial minority among the 20 most senior officials who run the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and National Republican Senatorial Committee — the three wings of the GOP apparatus charged with promoting candidates and winning elections. And a range of former Republican staffers told BuzzFeed that this lack of diversity has paralyzed the party’s ability to connect with minority communities…”

Anti-Gay Marriage Democrats Dig In

March 28, 2013 at 2:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After the sudden flip of several Senate Democrats from opposition to endorsement of gay marriage this week,” Alex Rogers notes “the stampede may have come to an end, leaving a handful of holdouts in states where opinion still lags the national trend.”

Just nine Senate Democrats remain in opposition, a core group that includes some of the party’s most socially conservative members: Joe Manchin (WV), Mark Pryor (AR), Bob Casey (PA), Bill Nelson (FL), Tom Carper (DE), Tim Johnson (SD), Mary Landrieu (LA), Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and Joe Donnelly (IN).

Boehner Quotes Lincoln in Memo to House GOP

March 28, 2013 at 12:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Speaker John Boehner told the Republican caucus that they have “forged a new tactical plan” that is forcing President Obama to recalibrate on issues of taxes, spending and job creation, the Washington Post reports.

Boehner also quotes at length from Congressman Lincoln, a book recapping the 16th president’s brief tenure in the House citing Lincoln’s warnings about government debt “growing with a rapidity fearful to contemplate.”

He concludes: “Republicans may be the minority party in Washington – but because we forged a plan together and have stuck to it, our actions as a team over the past couple of months have made a difference for all Americans.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 28, 2013 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I have to admit, being able to go back to our own life and going to the grocery store and shopping on my own is kind of nice to be by myself without a bunch of people hanging around with me. I like the life of being an American citizen. It’s good to live a normal life again.”

— Mitt Romney, interviewed on Dennis Miller’s radio show.

Murkowski Says She’s Evolving on Gay Marriage

March 28, 2013 at 11:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told the Chugiak-Eagle River Star that her views on gay marriage are “evolving” and that she’s reviewing her stance on the issue “very closely.”

Said Murkowski: “I think it’s important to acknowledge that there is a change afoot in this country in terms of how marriage is viewed.”

She added: “The term ‘evolving view’ has been perhaps overused, but I think it is an appropriate term for me to use.”

Barr Attempts Comeback

March 28, 2013 at 11:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) will run for Congress again in a district that overlaps part of his area he used to represent, Roll Call reports.

Barr was the Libertarian Party nominee for president last year but will run for Congress as a Republican.

Most Think Illegal Immigrants Should Be Able to Stay

March 28, 2013 at 11:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Pew Research survey finds that 71% of Americans say there should be a way for people in the United States illegally to remain in this country if they meet certain requirements, while 27% say they should not be allowed to stay legally.

“Among those who favor providing legal status, the balance of opinion is in favor of allowing those here illegally who meet the requirements to apply for citizenship. However, no more than about half in any demographic group supports permitting illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship.”

The Culture War Was Never a Fair Fight

March 28, 2013 at 10:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matt Lewis: “Social conservatives are greatly outnumbered (a byproduct of having lost the culture war argument). We hear a lot about the supposed ‘three-legged-stool’ of the conservative movement, but in fighting the culture war, social conservatives are on their own. In fact, it’s wrong to think of this in terms of a left versus right paradigm. It would be better understood as part of the continuing struggle between virtue (as social conservatives define it) and liberty (defined by our modern secular society to mean the freedom to do whatever we want). In that light, liberty is murdering virtue.”

Obama to Dine with Republicans Again

March 28, 2013 at 10:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Obama “will dine with a dozen Republican senators on April 10 at a dinner organized by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA),” Roll Call reports.

“This will be the second such gathering over the course of about a month. Obama had dinner with a group of GOP senators on March 6 to talk about a wide array of issues.”

The Case for Fewer Primary Debates

March 28, 2013 at 10:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Mitt Romney strategist Stuart Stevens backs the RNC’s call for fewer presidential primary debates.

“This debate escalation is somewhere between silly and dumb and serves no public good. We pick a president with three general-election debates but it takes 20 debates to understand that maybe Ron Paul wants to blow up the Federal Reserve? Other important national questions are decided more expediently: it only takes 12 shows for The Bachelorette and The Bachelor to pick a mate.”

“The RNC report recommends cutting the number of debates in half and shortening the debating season. That’s a good start. But I think we should go further. To improve the quality of the debates and eradicate the commercial toxicity tainting the events, news organizations should get out of the business of sponsoring debates. Let’s don’t kid ourselves. These ‘debates’ have become phony entertainment spectacles not serious news events.”

Gay Marriage Already Won

March 28, 2013 at 9:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Stengel: “Whatever the Supreme Court decides, it seems clear that the majority of Americans feel marriage is a civil right and that denying that right to people because of their sexual orientation is a violation of equal protection under the law…. We had a long debate in our offices about this week’s cover images of two same-sex couples. Some thought they were sensationalist and too in-your-face. Others felt the images were beautiful and symbolized the love that is at the heart of the idea of marriage. I agree with the latter, and I hope you do too.”

The Week: Why even red state Democrats are jumping on the gay marriage bandwagon.

Cate Edwards Talks About Her Father’s Affair

March 28, 2013 at 9:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Cate Edwards, the eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Edwards, spoke to NBC News about the extramarital affair that tore apart her family and destroyer her father’s political ambitions.

Said Edwards: “He told me. I guess he and my mom decided that that was, you know, how it needed to be done. So yeah, I was devastated. And I was disappointed. I mean, these are my parents. I had grown up with a lot of love in my family. And it was hard to see them go through this.”

The full interview will air on Friday.

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