Roll Call: “Sen. John McCain may have apologized for calling relative Senate newcomers Rand Paul and Ted Cruz wacko birds, but the Arizona Republican hasn’t given up fighting their isolationist position on U.S. foreign policy.”
Headline of the Day
“Clinton Is Strongest-Ever Frontrunner. If She Runs.”
— Al Hunt on Bloomberg
Warner Says He Supports Gay Marriage
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) told Time that he supports same-sex marriage.
Said Warner: “I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do. Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone.”
Warner is up for re-election in 2014.
Lawmaker Proposes Allowing Betting on Elections
Nevada state Sen. Tick Segerblom (D) has introduced a bill to allow people to bet on presidential and other federal elections, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
He said the bill could be expanded to allow betting on the Academy Awards and other non-sporting events.
Johnson Not Running for Re-Election
Sources tell Reuters that Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) does not plan to run for re-election when his current term ends in 2014.
Clinton Backs Greuel for L.A. Mayor
Former President Bill Clinton endorsed Wendy Greuel for Los Angeles mayor, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Clinton has often endorsed people who have been loyal to his family, either helpful during his time at the White House or supporters of his wife’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential run. Greuel fits both categories — in addition to being an early and active backer of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, she worked in the Clinton administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
Jack Abramoff is Back
The Atlantic looks at the improbable redemption of Jack Abramoff–“the man at the center of a sprawling corruption scandal that led to 21 convictions and tarred large swaths of the Republican establishment.”
“Since 2010, when Abramoff was released from prison (where he served three and a half years for fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion), he has refashioned himself as a reformer, and emerged as one of the most visible faces of the good-government movement. He is a frequent cable-news commentator, with a best-selling book (Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist), the radio program (on XM Satellite Radio), and a pair of reality-TV-show concepts in development.”
“Abramoff is also tearing up the speaker’s circuit, where he collects fees as high as $15,000. Harvard Law School has hosted him, as has an FBI training center.”
Little Agreement on Supreme Court Leanings
A new Pew Research survey finds Americans continue to have mixed perceptions of the Supreme Court’s ideology.
Key findings: 40% say the court is middle of the road, while 24% say it is liberal and 22% say it is conservative.
Is Same-Sex Marriage Inevitable?
The Cloakroom: The march towards legalizing gay marriage seems unstoppable, but is it?
Lawmaker Sought Bondage with Lobbyist
New Jersey Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D), “who’s being touted as the party’s next state chairman has an insatiable lust for bondage, oral sex and spanking,” according to secret e-mails obtained by the New York Post.
Cryan “graphically spelled out his kinky proclivities in more than 150 e-mails that he sent to a lobbyist — and then fought to keep them hidden after he stunned the state political world by having her busted for stalking in 2006.”
Bachmann Subject to Ethics Probe
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) “is embroiled in a litany of legal proceedings related to her rolling disaster of a presidential campaign–including a Office of Congressional Ethics investigation into campaign improprieties that has not previously been reported,” according to John Avlon.
Federal investigators “are now interviewing former Bachmann campaign staffers nationwide about alleged intentional campaign finance violations” and “have allegedly asked about allegations of improper
transfer of funds and under-the-table payments.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Everybody’s definition of a RINO is anybody that doesn’t agree with them 100 percent of the time, and I’ll tell you (the late economist) Friedrich Hayek would tell you right now if you find someone you agree with 100 percent of the time, somebody is not thinking — because rational human beings disagree.”
— GOP strategist Heath Garrett, quoted by the Marietta Daily Journal, saying it’s time to retire the word RINO.
Blocking Cabinet Nominees Now Routine
“Over the past few weeks three different senators have put the nominations of three picks by President Obama — the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Interior Department and Labor Department — in jeopardy,” The Fix reports.
“In none of these instances… did the senators suggest the president’s nominees were unqualified… So the question is, why has it become so common for senators to throw up roadblocks in the confirmation process?”
“The answer: Because Washington has become so dysfunctional, threatening a high-profile nomination has become one of the best ways senators can now achieve their normal policy objectives.”
Hispanic Caucus Gains Power
Roll Call: “The growing clout of Latino donors and voters has quietly boosted the fortunes of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has gained members, political leverage and fundraising power in the 113th Congress.”
George W. Bush Library Set to Open
McClatchy: “After 2 1/2 years of construction — and several years of planning — work on the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the edge of Southern Methodist University is down to the finishing touches.”
“Workers are busy arranging exhibits, beginning the last phase of landscaping and addressing other final details before the center, a tribute to the 43rd president, is unveiled to an invitation-only audience April 25 and to the general public May 1.”
Biden Headlines Major Democratic Fundraisers
Stuck in the Past
Paul Begala: “The far right howled when the autopsy was released. No shock there. Did you really think people who deny evolution are going to adapt? The report shines a light on what so many Republican politicians refuse to see: a bridge to the past is a bridge to nowhere.”
Portman’s Son Explains How He Told His Father
Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-OH) son, Will, writes for the Yale Daily News about telling his parents that he was gay.
“In February of freshman year, I decided to write a letter to my
parents. I’d tried to come out to them in person over winter break but
hadn’t been able to. So I found a cubicle in Bass Library one day and
went to work. Once I had something I was satisfied with, I overnighted
it to my parents and awaited a response.”
