The New York Times reports that former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) “was close to cooperating with Richard Ben Cramer, an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, on a biography. Mr. Corzine’s lawyers were in the final stages of negotiating with Mr. Cramer this month when the author died from complications of lung cancer.”
Cowan Picked as Interim Senator
William “Mo” Cowan, a senior adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), will be
named by the governor to serve as the interim U.S. senator until a
successor to John Kerry is chosen by the voters, the Boston Globe reports.
named by the governor to serve as the interim U.S. senator until a
successor to John Kerry is chosen by the voters, the Boston Globe reports.
FBI Raids Office of Doctor Tied to Menendez
Miami Herald: “FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the
West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free
trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to Sen. Bob
Menendez (D-NJ) — who has denied what he calls the ‘fallacious
allegations.'”
U.S. Economy Shrank in 4th Quarter
Wall Street Journal: “U.S. economic momentum screeched to a halt in the final months of
2012, as businesses pared back inventories and government spending fell
sharply, while lawmakers struggled to reach a deal on tax increases and
budget cuts. The nation’s gross domestic product shrank for the first time in
three and a half years during the fourth quarter, declining at an annual
rate of 0.1% between October and December.”
Brown Leaning Towards Senate Bid
Republicans officials close to former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) tell the AP that he’s ”leaning strongly toward running” in the special election to replace Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).
“They report that Brown is likely to enter the race early next week. The officials spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to share internal discussions.”
Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reports Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is expected to announce his temporary
replacement for Sen. John Kerry at 11:00 am ET this morning.
Two Pressure Points on Immigration Reform
First Read: “It’s been quite a revealing past 48 hours in the still-evolving debate over immigration, with Monday’s bipartisan Senate framework and Tuesday’s speech by President Obama. So what have we learned? There are two pressure points that either could create enough force to ensure legislation gets through Congress, or that could scuttle any chance for a deal. One, Marco Rubio and Republicans considering any comprehensive immigration reform want a ‘trigger’ to make sure that border enforcement comes before legalization… Two, Obama yesterday vowed to bring his own legislation if Congress doesn’t quickly act. Translation: He’ll blame Republicans for this failure.”
“But here’s something this debate IS NOT about: whether Obama wants to use immigration as a way to club Republicans. It’s not even a question. The idea that anyone outside of political partisans — or those looking for a reason to be against reform (but don’t want to look anti-Hispanic) — believes that Obama doesn’t want to sign historic immigration legislation to fulfill a campaign promise is a bit naïve.”
Torture Likely to Dominate Brennan’s Hearing
Reuters:
“John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, had
detailed, contemporaneous knowledge of the use of ‘enhanced
interrogation techniques’ on captured terrorism suspects during an
earlier stint as a top spy agency official… Those records, the sources said,
show that Brennan was a regular recipient of CIA message traffic about
controversial aspects of the agency’s counter-terrorism program after
September 2001, including the use of waterboarding. How deeply
involved Brennan was in the program, and whether he vigorously objected
to it at the time, as he has said he did, are likely to be central
questions lawmakers raise at his Senate Intelligence Committee
confirmation hearing, scheduled for February 7.”
Unions and Hollywood Donors Bankroll New Advocacy Group
“Labor unions and Hollywood donors are open to bankrolling Organizing for Action, the outside group that has been formed in support of President Obama’s second-term agenda,” The Hill reports.
“To the dismay of campaign finance reformers, Organizing for Action will operate as a 501(c)(4), a tax-exempt vehicle that was used during the 2012 campaign to evade donor disclosure while spending hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign ads.”
Obama Approval Spikes Up
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds President Obama “has advanced to his highest personal popularity since his first year in office, and Americans who’ve formed an opinion of his second inaugural address last week broadly approve of it.”
Key findings: 60% of Americans now express a favorable opinion of Obama overall, up 10 points since last summer, in the heat of the presidential race.
Ryan Leaves Prison
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R) was released from prison after six years in a federal penitentiary, NBC Chicago reports.
“Ryan, a 78-year-old father and grandfather, must report to a halfway house in Chicago at some point in the day. The former governor, convicted in 2006 of federal corruption charges, was given a strict schedule to get from the prison to the West Side facility about four hours away. There was speculation he left the prison early Tuesday morning to arrive in Chicago by 7 a.m.””
Obama Skeet Shooting Truthers
The Atlantic notes that some conservatives are responding with skepticism about President Obama’s recent claim that he regularly goes skeet shooting at Camp David.
“So why are the ‘truthers’ coming out over the president doing a little face-saving with the gun crowd? Hasn’t he made clear his support of the Second Amendment throughout his push for new proposals on gun violence? Well, there’s the convenient timing, of course, but the gun push is why he was asked the question in the first place. No, conservative skeptics say — this guy doesn’t know anything about guns or the gun initiatives he’s trying to push … It’s just the latest in a narrative that Obama, when it comes right down to it, is afraid of guns. Whether that’s true or not, conservatives sure aren’t afraid to say so.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in an interview with CNN went so far as to challenge Obama to a match: “If he is a skeet shooter, why have we not heard of this? Why have we not seen photos? Why hasn’t he referenced this at any point in time? … I tell you what I do think. I think he should invite me to Camp David, and I’ll go skeet shooting with him, and I bet I’ll beat him … It’s a great hobby, and I would hope that the president does enjoy it.”
The Week: “So should Obama accept Blackburn’s challenge? It may not be a bad idea, actually.”
Perdue Not Interested in Senate Seat
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) “has declared himself out of a 2014 contest
to replace U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, but placed himself on the side of
Republicans who believe the party has become too rigid in its approach,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Bloomberg Praises Biden
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg heaped praise on Vice President Joe Biden in a free-ranging Politico interview which covered the vice president’s “efforts to move the dial on guns, immigration and gay marriage.”
Said Bloomberg: “You know, Joe Biden — you can joke about him all you want, but he’s got a set of balls, and he says what he believes.”
He added: “And he forced the focus [on gay marriage]. I’m sure the president was evolving and was about to do it anyways. But Biden deserves the credit. He should be the hero of the pro-gay marriage community.”
Quote of the Day
“Yesterday we had to get rid of our guns. Today we gotta grant amnesty…
They’re running the no-huddle offense on us. We don’t even have time to
catch our breath. They’re running play after play after play.”
— Rush Limbaugh, on his radio show.
No Deal on Sequester in Sight
“Less than a month after averting one fiscal crisis, Washington began bracing Tuesday for another, as lawmakers in both parties predicted that deep, across-the-board spending cuts would probably hit the Pentagon and other federal agencies on March 1,” the Washington Post reports.
“An array of proposals are in the works to delay or replace the cuts. But party leaders say they see no clear path to compromise, particularly given a growing sentiment among Republicans to pocket the cuts and move on to larger battles over health and retirement spending.”
The Wall Street Journal notes Senate Democrats “are considering further short-term deferrals of spending cuts set to be implemented from March 1, but only through a combination of increased tax revenue and cuts elsewhere to the federal budget… Two top GOP Senate leaders were quickly dismissive of the plan, saying that they wouldn’t contemplate any tax increases as part of an effort to avoid the sequester beginning to take effect.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I don’t see myself getting back into politics. I want to be involved in philanthropy, advocacy, working on issues – like women and girls – that I care deeply about. I want to write and speak. I want to work with my husband and my daughter on our mutual foundation interests. So I’m going to have my hands full.”
— Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an interview to air tomorrow on National Public Radio.
Will Immigration Reform Help Republicans?
Harry Enten: “The only swing states in which Latinos make up the same or a greater
percentage of the electorate than nationally are Colorado, Florida, and
Nevada. A modest improvement for Republicans in these states could make a
difference in a close election. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but the
majority of swing states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia are more likely to be determined by African-American and
non-Hispanic white voters.”
Kerry Confirmed
The Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) as the next secretary of state, 94 to 3, the Washington Post reports.
He will formally take over from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday.
