Gov. Mark Dayton (D) personally revoked a personalized Minnesota license plates reading ‘FMUSLMS,’ the Pioneer Press reports.
Dayton said he was “appalled” the state had issued the plates: “It is offensive, and the person who requested it should be ashamed. That prejudice has no place in Minnesota.”
New legislation would require that Kentucky men “visit a doctor twice and have signed permission from their wives before obtaining a prescription for Viagra or other such drugs for erectile dysfunction,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian (D) “said it is merely an effort to protect men’s health and ensure they are informed about a drug with potentially dangerous side effects.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said he would forgo the state’s official nomination process in selecting a new education commissioner and instead take on the role himself, the Bangor Daily News reports.
“The Pennsylvania House voted overwhelmingly to begin impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D), who survived a separate attempt by Senate Republicans to oust her using an arcane constitutional procedure not invoked here since 1891,” the New York Times reports.
“The back-to-back votes were the latest turn in an intriguing drama involving Ms. Kane, who has publicized lewd and bigoted emails sent by some of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania — only to find herself facing perjury charges, with her law license suspended by the State Supreme Court.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told WVOM that drug traffickers should be publicly executed.
Said LePage: “I think the death penalty should be appropriate for people that kill Mainers.”
He added: “Actually, if you want my honest opinion, we should give them an injection of the stuff they sell. What I think we ought to do is bring the guillotine back. We could have public executions.”
“Tennessee Republican leaders were told of a potential sexual harassment complaint about House Majority Whip Jeremy Durham’s (R) behavior about a week before an unprecedented House GOP caucus meeting to decide the fate of his leadership role, but the specific concerns were never disclosed to his fellow legislators,” the Tennessean reports.
“The news comes amid a Tennessean investigation into inappropriate text messages from Durham to three women who worked at the statehouse. Durham said Friday he does not remember sending the messages.”
WATE-TV says Durham resigned from his leadership position late yesterday.
Lexington Herald-Leader: “They have only eight weeks to campaign, but the outcome of their political races will greatly affect how Kentucky is governed. The field of candidates has been set for the four special state House elections that Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has scheduled for March 8.”
“Democrats have to win at least one of the elections to keep the majority they have enjoyed since 1921.”
Kansas state Sen. Mitch Holmes (R) “imposed a dress code on Kansans testifying on elections or ethics bills that explicitly prohibits women from wearing skimpy skirts or blouses with plunging necklines while establishing no wardrobe restrictions exclusively for men,” the Topeka Capital Journal reports.
“Holmes said he considered stipulating men had to wear suit and tie when addressing his Senate committee, but decided males didn’t need supplemental instruction on how to look professional.”
“Now I’m kind of surprised that I’m still here and three more years to go. That is, unless I take my surplus campaign funds and put a ballot initiative on the November ballot to allow fourth-term governors to seek a final, fifth term. Heh heh.”
— California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
“Hacking group Anonymous has set its sights on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who is scrambling to address a drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan,” The Hill reports.
“The goal of the campaign is to gather evidence against Snyder and put him in jail. The governor has been widely berated for his slow response to the emergency in Flint, where lead levels in the drinking water have spiked since officials switched the water source to a local river to cut costs.”
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) “spoke directly to Flint residents and vowed to fix the beleaguered city’s lead-contaminated drinking water, as protesters outside of the Capitol called for his resignation,” the Detroit News reports.
Said Snyder: “I’m sorry, and I will fix it. No citizens of this great state should endure this kind of catastrophe. Government failed you — federal, state and local leaders — by breaking the trust you placed in us. I’m sorry most of all that I let you down.”
New York Times: “The scandal over the water in Flint has engulfed Mr. Snyder in the biggest crisis of his tenure and reverberated far beyond the state’s borders.”
Wonk Wire: Flint’s water crisis underscores the need for big government
Washington state Rep. Mary Dye (R) asked a group of teenagers advocating for expanded insurance coverage for birth control if they were virgins, the Seattle Times reports.
Dye asked the half-dozen students if they were virgins before she “suggested one was not.”
Explained Dye: “In hindsight, a few of the thoughts I shared, while well-intended, may have come across as more motherly than what they would expect from their state representative. If anything I said offended them or made them feel uncomfortable, I apologize.”
“Democrats who control the Maine House of Representatives balked Thursday at the opportunity to investigate and potentially impeach Gov. Paul LePage (R) on charges that included intimidation,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
“Instead, the House passed a vaguely worded resolution that praises cooperation and civil behavior but doesn’t mention LePage.”
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) indicated that he might break with longstanding custom and deliver his State of the State address by letter rather than giving a speech before the full legislature, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Said LePage: “Why am I going to go up and face people and talk to them in an audience that just a week or two before, they’re trying to impeach me? That’s just silliness. So why don’t we just, I’ll go to work, keep working, I’ll send them a letter and call it a day.”
Arizona state Sen. John Kavanagh (R) introduced a bill “which would make it a crime for someone within 20 feet of an officer to knowingly take video of any law enforcement activity without the officer’s permission,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“A Texas lawmaker unsuccessfully introduced similar legislation earlier this year.”
“She is facing a criminal trial, the Senate might yank her out of office, her poll numbers are sinking, rivals in her own party are lining up for her job, and the husband who bankrolled her last campaign is no longer in the picture,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“Despite all that, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) intends to seek a second term.”
Maine Democrats pushing for impeachment proceedings against Gov. Paul LePage (R) say they will introduce a measure this week calling for an investigation into eight possible charges against the Republican chief executive, the Portland Press Herald reports.
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.