“The artwork of George W. Bush — the painter known as ’43’ — is finally for sale,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“While the former president’s paintings won’t be found at the National Gallery of Art — or even the Dallas Museum of Art — the George W. Bush Presidential Center is selling a limited-edition Christmas ornament that highlights one of Bush’s pieces.”
The Obama administration “is planning to push back the period during which Americans sign up for coverage under the new health law in its second year of operation, a change that could reassure insurers while also avoiding the 2014 midterm elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Such a shift “would ensure that Democrats facing tough re-election races next fall don’t have to campaign at the same time as open enrollment is taking place, although some premium information would be already available during the campaign.”
Jon Stewart: “It’s just like Hiroshima of voting.”
“I just have a Midwestern filter, that’s the difference. I’m willing to speak out, but I’m not going to call you an idiot.”
— Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), quoted by the AP, comparing himself with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).
First Read highlights what really triggered yesterday’s rules change in the U.S. Senate:
“It used to be that the up-or-down vote was what ultimately mattered. But over the last few years, interest groups and partisan media began holding senators accountable for their cloture votes. It was no longer good enough to simply vote against a nominee on final passage; you also had to vote to deny that nominee the 60 votes needed to even consider the nomination… Bottom line: This trend wasn’t going to end.”
“By the way, another reason Reid may have decided now was the time to
pull this trigger: If Republicans do take control of the Senate in 2014,
it would mean judicial nominations would probably come to a screeching
halt in 2015 and 2016, so this is essentially the Democrats’ last year
to impact the makeup of the federal courts.”
Wonk Wire: Two contrasting views of the nuclear option.
A new Southern Media & Opinion Research poll in Louisiana finds Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) approval rating falling more than ten points to 47% in the last six months.
Said pollster Bernie Pinsonat: “Senator Landrieu’s job performance has deteriorated since this spring. If (she) faced re-election in the next few months, her outlook for re-election would be highly unlikely.”
That said, Landrieu still leads Bill Cassidy (R) by seven points, 41% to 34%. “But the data questioned whether she would be able to clinch the 50% necessary to win outright. With Tea Party-endorsed Republican Rob Maness receiving just under 10% in the poll, Cassidy could conceivably win in a runoff if he could claim all or most of Maness’ support for himself.”
A perfect way to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is to listen to presidential historian Michael Beschloss. He was our guest on the latest episode of the Political Wire podcast.
Listen here:
Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS to get the latest episodes automatically downloaded.
“Many Republican activists, citing Congress’ deep unpopularity, say they want a governor to be their next presidential nominee. The buzz centers on New Jersey’s Chris Christie for now, but Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is using a national book tour to try to climb into the 2016 conversation,” the AP reports.
“Everything depends on Walker winning re-election next year. If he does, he can join Christie in casting himself as a two-term Republican governor who thrived in a Democratic-leaning state.”
Walker has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that standing on principle is the way Republicans can win the White House.
President Obama “will get a short-term lift for his nominees, judicial and otherwise, but over the immediate horizon, the strong-arm move by Senate Democrats on Thursday to limit filibusters could usher in an era of rank partisan warfare beyond even what Americans have seen in the past five years,” the New York Times reports.
“Ultimately, a small group of centrists — Republicans and Democrats — could find the muscle to hold the Senate at bay until bipartisan solutions can be found. But for the foreseeable future, Republicans, wounded and eager to show they have not been stripped of all power, are far more likely to unify against the Democrats who humiliated them in such dramatic fashion.”
The Washington Post notes the move “should make it easier for President Obama to accomplish key second-term priorities, including tougher measures on climate change and financial regulation, that have faced intense opposition from Republicans in Congress.”
Wonk Wire: Why Harry Reid needed to invoke the “nuclear option.”
“It’s like putting 1,000 more people on the Titanic when you knew what was going to happen.”
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the New York Times, on why he chose not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
A new CNN/ORC poll finds that 41% of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing in the White House, the lowest level for that crucial indicator in CNN polling. Fifty-six percent questioned say they disapprove of Obama’s performance, an all-time high in CNN surveys.
The American Civil Liberties Union “is suing Kansas over the state’s refusal to allow residents to vote in state elections without showing proof of citizenship,” USA Today reports.
“Under a new law, Kansas requires new voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. A Supreme Court ruling in June, however, requires that states accept federal standards for voter registration: Voters must swear they are U.S. citizens but aren’t required to show a document. As a result, nearly 18,000 voters in Kansas who registered to vote for the first time this year can vote in federal elections but not in state or local contests because they have not submitted documents proving citizenship.”
The Fix: “Thursday was a landmark day in political Washington. The Senate changed its rules on filibusters for the first time in its history — opening a potential Pandora’s Box that may very well lead to a future of majority-only votes in the world’s greatest deliberative body. The implications for the Senate’s traditions as well as how it functions day-to-day are hard to overstate.”
“And yet, for the world outside of Washington, invoking the nuclear option and the changing of filibuster rules are non-happenings — moments that barely register and almost certainly will have zero impact on who they vote for in the coming midterm elections.”
Congressional scholar Norm Ornstein told First Read the blame for invoking the “nuclear option” in the Senate was squarely on Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Said Ornstein: “This was an in-your-face, go-ahead-I-dare-you equivalent of a bully saying, ‘Go ahead and hit me,’ When the other kid says, ‘No,’ you spit in his face, kick him in the groin and force him to go ahead and do it.”
After Democrats invoked the “nuclear option” today, GOP senators pledged to push conservative judges through the Senate as soon as they get the chance.
But as First Read notes, “they will need to do two things come 2016: 1) win the White House and 2) control the U.S. Senate.”
“As it turns out, Republicans are poised to make Senate gains in the 2014 midterms — and maybe even win control of the chamber — due to the favorable battleground… But 2016 is a different story. In that ’16 cycle — a presidential year — Republicans will have to defend more Senate seats (24) than Democrats will (10).”
New York Times: “Inside the Senate, furious Republicans who portrayed the Democratic action as a blatant power grab will no doubt try to exact revenge by further slowing the chamber’s activities and making life as complicated as possible for Democrats. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader and an expert student of Senate rules, made it clear that Democrats would rue this day.”
Said McConnell: “But if they want to play games and set yet another precedent that they will no doubt come to regret, well that’s a choice only they can make.”
“Democrats say Republicans have been so successful in slowing the Senate that there is little more they can do to paralyze the institution, part of the reason that Democrats were finally willing to make the change.”
“I think what we really need is an anti-bullying ordinance in the Senate. I mean, now we’ve got a big bully, Harry Reid says he’s just going to break the rules and make new rules. Never been done this way before.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by Politico.
Utah Attorney General John Swallow (R) “is expected
to tender his resignation by week’s end in the face of mounting
investigations and a report expected from the lieutenant governor’s
office that could result in his ouster,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“The lieutenant governor is expected to issue a report — originally expected for release Thursday, but now likely to be postponed — that will find that Swallow failed to report numerous business interests and income on his candidate-financial-disclosure forms.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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