A new University of Mary Washington poll in Virginia finds Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) leading Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) in a hypothetical 2014 match up for U.S. Senate, 51% to 35%.
What is Rubio Up To?
Wonk Wire notes Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) put the brakes on an emerging immigration reform package over the weekend.
First Read: “If his role is to sell the legislation to conservatives, he can’t afford to be seen as rushing it through, so his tapping of the brakes is smart. On the other hand, if you’re an immigration-reform advocate, you have to be a bit concerned about the totality of the statements coming from him and office. (Remember, Rubio is a recent convert on comprehensive immigration reform.) Make no mistake: Rubio is the difference between the Senate bill getting 60 votes or 75 votes. And if it gets 75 votes, it has a MUCH better chance of clearing the House with a path to citizenship.”
Jeff Zeleny: “It is an attempt, a Rubio aide says, to ease perceptions that immigration reform is a done deal. Critics still point to the secrecy surrounding the 2007 immigration debate. This time, Rubio and others are calling for a more open and transparent process to litigate concerns. It remains an open question if that will help — or happen.”
Quote of the Day
“You may be as straight as an arrow, and you may have a friend that is as straight as an arrow. Say you had a great job with the government where you had this wonderful health plan. I mean, what would prohibit you from saying that you’re gay, and y’all get married and still live as separate, but you get all the benefits? I just see so much abuse in this it’s unreal.”
— Georgia Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Everhart, quoted by the Marietta Daily Journal, arguing against same-sex marriage.
Caroline Kennedy Headed to Japan
President Obama has appointed Caroline Kennedy as the next U.S. Ambassador to Japan, the Washington Post reports.
“The move, which her office did not return a call about, is almost certain to thrill the Japanese, who like their American ambassadors to be superstars. Kennedy’s predecessors include luminaries like legendary Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield, former vice president Walter Mondale, former House speaker Tom Foley, and former Senate majority leader Howard Baker.”
Social Conservatives Fight Back
Jonathan Martin: “The preferred plot line for
many in the GOP establishment for revitalizing their party goes
something like this: They move to a more libertarian stance on key
social issues — particularly same-sex marriage — and the Bible-thumping,
evangelical wing of the party meekly complies, realizing times have
changed. One problem with that scenario, however: The Christian Right,
while a diminished force, doesn’t like how that story ends at all.”
First Read: “Just saying, but doesn’t this sound a whole lot more like Rand Paul’s party than George Bush’s?”
Two Paths for Obama’s Budget
First Read: “As Obama is set to unveil his budget next week, it raises these two questions: Will it simply reaffirm what Senate Democrats recently passed? Or will it lay out a potential path to compromise with House Republicans? After all, White House budgets typically come BEFORE the Senate and House act on theirs. But Obama’s budget is coming AFTER the two chambers already passed their respective budgets. And it puts the White House in a bind. If it lays out a potential path to compromise (offering ‘chained CPI’ on Social Security, for example), then that could tick off Senate Democrats who could wonder why they had to take the vote they did. But if it simply reaffirms what Senate Democrats produced, then that would open up the White House to criticism that it’s not trying to find a way forward in resolving Washington’s budget impasse. We’ll find out what message the White House is trying to send on April 10.”
The Alchemists
Out this week: The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire by Neil Irwin.
“When the first fissures became visible to the naked eye in August 2007, suddenly the most powerful men in the world were three men who were never elected to public office. They were the leaders of the world’s three most important central banks: Ben Bernanke of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Mervyn King of the Bank of England, and Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank. Over the next five years, they and their fellow central bankers deployed trillions of dollars, pounds and euros to contain the waves of panic that threatened to bring down the global financial system, moving on a scale and with a speed that had no precedent.”
Sanford Likely to Survive Runoff
Politico: “Voters here have heard all the reasons to keep former Gov. Mark Sanford retired from politics. He’s damaged goods. He risks handing a safe Republican congressional seat to the sister of liberal comedian Stephen Colbert. The 1st Congressional District needs a conservative who lives the talk instead of issuing apologies.”
“Yet, Sanford appears to be on the cusp of clinching the Republican nomination Tuesday for the right to take on Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a May 7 special election that’s sure to become a national spectacle.”
The State profiles Elizabeth Colbert Busch.
How Democrats Pushed Judd Out of the Senate Race
Ashley Judd adviser Jonathan Miller writes in the Daily Beast about how a small coterie of Kentucky Democrats “duped the national press and helped nudge her out of the Senate race.”
Healthcare Hurts GOP Outreach to Latinos
“As Republican leaders try to woo Latino voters with a new openness to legal status for the nation’s illegal immigrants, the party remains at odds with America’s fastest-growing ethnic community on another key issue: healthcare,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Latinos, who have the lowest rates of health coverage in the country, are among the strongest backers of President Obama’s healthcare law… Yet congressional Republicans continue to make repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act a top agenda item and have renewed calls for deep cuts in health programs such as Medicaid, which are very popular with Latinos.”
How Hard Will Reid Push Gun Control?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) “evolution from a proponent of gun rights to the shepherd of legislation that would expand background checks, among other gun control measures, emerges from a complex web of political calculations that have come to define his leadership style over the last decade,” the New York Times reports.
“How tenacious Mr. Reid is willing to be — and whether he will extract votes one by one as he has for other big pieces of legislation — may well determine the fate of the measures.”
Top Critique of GOP is Unwillingness to Compromise
A new Gallup Poll finds rank-and-file Republicans, independents, and Democrats voice the same primary criticism of the GOP: it is “too inflexible” or “unwilling to compromise.”
When asked to say what they most dislike about the Republican Party, 26% of Republicans, 17% of independents, and 22% of Democrats offer this critique — leading all other mentions.
Clinton to Give Her First Paid Speech
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver her first paid speech since leaving office last month in late April, CNN reports.
“Shortly after leaving her State Department post, Clinton signed on with the Harry Walker Agency as her representative for speaking engagements. She is expected to be a highly sought speaker who could earn in the six-figure range per appearance.”
Cuccinelli Did Not Disclose Stock Holdings
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) “failed to disclose for nearly a year that he had substantial stock holdings in a company, even though disclosure is required by law and his office was defending the state in a tax lawsuit filed by the company,” the Washington Post reports.
“Cuccinelli, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, said through a campaign consultant that the attorney general did not disclose his interest in Star Scientific because he didn’t realize that his holdings exceeded $10,000, the threshold for disclosure under state law.”
Donor Picked Up Tab for Wedding of Governor’s Daughter
A political donor paid for the $15,000 wedding reception for the daughter of Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, attended by about 200 guests at the governor’s mansion, the Washington Post reports.
The gift from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of a company that has made major contributions to McDonnell’s campaigns and that is the subject of a federal securities investigation, was not disclosed by McDonnell.
It’s “just one element of the McDonnells’ close relationship with Williams and his company, a relationship that has included rides on Williams’s corporate jet, personal gifts to the first family and efforts by the governor and his wife to promote the company.”
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think you would ever see the Republican Party platform saying we are in favor of same-sex marriage.”
— Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie, in an interview on Fox News Sunday.
Minister Blasts the Religious Right at Easter Service
“With President Obama and his family in the pews for Easter Sunday worship, the Rev. Luis Leon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington’s Lafayette Square took the opportunity to take a shot at political conservatives, arguing from the pulpit that some conservative positions are holding people back,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Leon: “It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back … for blacks to be back in the back of the bus … for women to be back in the kitchen … for immigrants to be back on their side of the border.”
Why John Roberts Was Wrong About Healthcare
Coming this summer: Why John Roberts Was Wrong About Healthcare by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).
