“He has been on Wall Street’s side since day one.”
— Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), in a Reuters interview, on President Obama’s “minimal steps” to regulate banks.
Today’s Republicans Most Conservative in 100 Years
NPR reports on research by political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal who find that the Republican Party is the most conservative it has been a century.
Said Poole: “The short version would be since the late 1970s starting with the 1976 election in the House the Republican caucus has steadily moved to the right ever since. It’s been a little more uneven in the Senate. The Senate caucuses have also moved to the right. Republicans are now furtherest to the right that they’ve been in 100 years.”
Obama Celebrates RomneyCare
President Obama’s re-election campaign puts out a video to mark the 6th anniversary of Mitt Romney’s health care reform in Massachusetts.
Why Clinton 2016 Speculaton Won’t Die
Paul Begala notes the speculation that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will run for president in four years has only intensified in the months since she declared she wouldn’t run.
It helps that she’s required to stay out of electoral politics.
“Hillary benefits from the fact that the job is designed to be above the political fray; she hasn’t had to comment on, say, gay marriage or the Trayvon Martin case. It’s a paradox Hillary must understand: the less political you are, the more popular a politician you become; the less you yearn for the presidency, the more the country yearns for you.”
Giffords War Chest Prompts Talk of Comeback
Two months after stepping down from Congress, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) “appears to be holding on to much of the nearly $1 million left in her campaign account, in order to leave the door open for a potential run for the House or the Senate in the next campaign cycle,” the New York Times reports.
“Ms. Giffords is still going through intensive rehabilitation in Houston, and her supporters say they are careful not to set expectations too high. Still, they openly speak of the possibility of her running for the Senate seat now held by John McCain or perhaps running for the House again.”
Muslim Brotherhood Makes Move in Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood “nominated its chief strategist and financier Khairat el-Shater on Saturday as its candidate to become Egypt’s first president since Hosni Mubarak, breaking a pledge not to seek the top office and a monopoly on power,” the New York Times reports.
“Because of the Brotherhood’s unrivaled grass-roots organization and popular appeal, Mr. Shater, 62, a multimillionaire business tycoon who was a political prisoner until just a year ago, immediately became a presidential front-runner.”
Reuters: “The move will worry liberals and others who fret about the rising influence of Islamists after they swept parliament and now dominate an assembly writing the new constitution.”
Rebuild the Dream
Out next week: Rebuild the Dream by Van Jones.
“Van Jones reflects on his journey from grassroots outsider to White House insider. For the first time, he shares intimate details of his time in government – and reveals why he chose to resign his post as a special advisor to the Obama White House.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If you’re looking for something to go after in a political sense, just listen to the Vice President. He’s got plenty of material for us.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by NBC News.
Haley Never Faced Tax Investigation
Quote of the Day
“I think the mistakes made in 2008 will have a big effect, as they should in 2012. The 2008 process was evaluated almost entirely through a political prism.”
— GOP strategist Steve Schmidt, quoted by the Washington Post, who oversaw Sen. John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Wisconsin Republicans To Run Fake Primary Challengers
Joshua Spivak reports the four Democratic state Senate hopefuls in Wisconsin will all face “fake” primary opponents. Republican leaders confirmed the tactic which they also used in last year’s recall races.
“The goal is to push the election so it is on the same day as the Walker recall — otherwise, the Democrats may have had a serious advantage in those races (as their votes would be more likely to come out for the Gubernatorial primary vote).”
Romney Still Leads in Wisconsin
A new Rasmussen survey in Wisconsin finds Mitt Romney with a double-digit lead over Rick Santorum in next week’s GOP presidential primary, 44% to 34%, with Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul each at 7%.
Gingrich Finally Admits Romney is Likely to Win
Though he’s promised a fight all the way to the convention, Newt Gingrich told WTMJ that Mitt Romney “is clearly the front-runner” and “will probably” win enough delegates to secure the Republican presidential nomination.
Endorsing the Winner
As well-regarded Republicans continue to line up behind Mitt Romney–including George H.W. Bush, Marco Rubio, and Paul Ryan — Adam Sorensen underlines why there has been a sudden rush to back the likely nominee.
“You might read these statements as examples of lukewarm sentiment for the candidate — Dave Weigel compares them to Ted Kennedy’s swooning endorsement of Obama at the height of the epic 2008 Democratic primary — but I’m not sure that’s entirely fair. There is a real and legitimate concern among Republicans that in recent years, their party has at times lost focus on winning general elections (see Christine O’Donnell). The Establishment endorsers’ target audience — Republicans who want to see the primary play out a bit longer — is not one that needs to be swept off its feet… The goal is to show that Romney has already won it, and that it’s time to move on to taking down Obama.”
Spitzer Replaces Olbermann
Current TV terminated the contract of its lead anchor Keith Olbermann, “scarcely one year after he was hired to reboot the channel in his progressive political image,” the New York Times reports.
He is being replaced by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“It’s been tried in our history and it hasn’t worked. It
didn’t work when we tried it in the decade before the Great Depression.
It didn’t work when we tried it in the last decade. We just tried this.
What they’re peddling has been tried — it did not work!”
— President Obama, in a fiery campaign speech in Vermont, referring to Republican proposals as “you’re on your own economics.”
A Hands-On Candidate
After congressional candidate Matt Doheny (R) insisted that photos of him kissing a campaign consultant were “out of context,” the New York Post provides some context.
Doheny was “recently spotted partying in a DC bar with two women, groping both and kissing one. Neither one was his fiancée.”
And they have it on video.
“The video and photo didn’t come as a shock to some GOP insiders. They
described the former Wall Street investor as a party-hearty kind of guy.”
Recall Elections Ordered in Wisconsin
Wisconsin elections officials ordered a set of historic recall elections, making Gov. Scott Walker (R) the third governor in the nation to face a recall and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (R) the first lieutenant governor to face one, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Recall elections for four Republican state senators were also ordered.
Primaries will be held May 8 and general elections June 5. For races that do not require primaries, the general elections will be May 8.
Just two other governors have faced recall elections. Both were defeated.
