September 01, 2011
A
McLaughlin & Associates (R) poll in New York's 9th congressional district finds David Weprin (D) and Bob Turner (R) deadlocked at 42% each in the September 13 special election.
"Isn't a shame: Here's a guy who did a rotten job as vice president, nobody liked him, tremendous divisiveness, and he's gonna make a lot of money on the book."
-- Donald Trump, in a
video review of Dick Cheney's memoir,
In My Time.
See more...
In a sign of his frustration at the investigations into his alleged crimes, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed in July to leave Italy, which he described as a "shitty country" that "sickened" him, the
Guardian reports.
"The Italian prime minister's astonishing remarks are contained in the transcript of a telephone conversation secretly recorded by police investigating claims he was being blackmailed about his sex life."
If it seemed like August was a busier month than usual, you're right: The
Wall Street Journal finds 7.85% more news was published last month than would
normally be expected.
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) told the
Financial Times that he was "disgusted" by the Republican party's behavior.
Said Hagel: "The irresponsible actions of my party, the Republican Party over this were astounding. I'd never seen anything like this in my lifetime. I was very disappointed, I was very disgusted in how this played out in Washington, this debt ceiling debate. It was an astounding lack of responsible leadership by many in the Republican Party, and I say that as a Republican."
He added: "I think the Republican Party is captive to political movements that are very ideological, that are very narrow. I've never seen so much intolerance as I see today in American politics."
Former Florida Republican party chairman Jim Greer is "accused of lavish spending, forming a secret corporation and funneling Republican Party money to his own account" which led to his arrest last year. He's maintained his silence while awaiting trail but gave a fascinating interview to
WTSP-TV in which he claims the right wing of the Republican party "destroyed my life for no reason."
Said Greer: "If they could have put Charlie Crist in prison they would have done that... They never supported the governor and looked to turn on the governor. And I was, as many said, the last man standing between the governor and the rest of the party."
A new
SurveyUSA/MoveOn poll of people who voted for Barack Obama for president in 2008 finds that by a huge margin -- 81% to 16% -- they want him to lay out a broad plan for creating jobs and hold Republicans accountable if they block this legislation, instead of proposing smaller measures that Republicans have supported, in the hopes of getting something passed in Congress.
House Speaker John Boehner will deliver his own speech about the
economy, a week after President Obama addresses the nation about his
jobs plan,
USA Today reports.
The emphasis is expected to be on the GOP legislative agenda this fall "focused on
repealing environmental and labor regulations that they say drive up the
cost of business and discourage employers from hiring."
The Republican Party in Arizona's Pima County, which is represented by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), is in the midst of a fundraising raffle, according to the
Huffington Post.
The
prize: A Glock 23, a similar model of gun that delivered a
near-fatal blast to the Democratic lawmaker's head outside a grocery store earlier this year.
Jon Huntsman, who must do very well in New Hampshire if his long shot presidential campaign has any hope, just fired his campaign manager in the first primary state, according to the
New Hampshire Union Leader.
Sarah Crawford Stewart "will take over many aspects of the job" previously held be Ethan Eilon. Stewart was Tim Pawlenty's New Hampshire director before he dropped out of the race last month.
NBC News notes Huntsman set the bar pretty high yesterday: "We are going to win in New Hampshire."
The latest
Public Policy Polling survey finds Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with a 16% approval rating nationally, including just 22% among Republicans.
In Kentucky, Republicans at least like McConnell but no one else does. His approval rating among all voters back home is just 37%.
Joe Klein writes that if Mitt Romney "is to staunch the Tea tide, he is going to have to become a stronger, firmer candidate than he has shown himself to be.... Romney begins the contest in a hole on the firmness front; his flip-floppery has been blatant to the point of hilarity in the past. All the more reason for him to now distinguish himself with an inconvenient, but smart, stand or two..."
"That sort of calculation requires innate political skills that Romney may not have. He may not need those skills to win the nomination -- if Perry blows up, Romney is the default position (unless Jon Huntsman catches fire in New Hampshire). But general elections are different. The superior politician always wins."
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) was fined $4,100 "for violating state ethics laws, in connection with his taping and distribution of a state public-service announcement when he was a candidate for re-election in 2008," the
Billings Gazette reports.
"Schweitzer, however, has said previously he did nothing wrong and that any final ruling against him from the political practices commissioner will be challenged in state court."
David Weprin (D) "is trying to hide" President Obama's endorsement from the voters in this month's special election to succeed Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), the
New York Post reports.
Meanwhile, challenger Bob Turner (R) is trying to make Obama the issue in the September 13 contest, noting Weprin "knows this race has turned into a referendum on President Obama, so he's trying to get as far away from this president as possible."
Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign has all but conceded that they
do not consider New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary a top
priority, reports
Politico.
Bachmann has not visited New Hampshire since she launched her campaign
in July, and a campaign spokeswoman gave little indication that they
plan to change that any time soon, stating, "Iowa is our main focus
right now, secondly is South Carolina. We do plan to build on our
efforts in New Hampshire in due time."
"Her recent absence has
frustrated the early supporters who jumped on board with the Minnesota
congresswoman in the wake of her strong debate performance there in
mid-June... Bachmann's lack of presence in the state stands in contrast
to literally every other GOP contender... At the same time, Bachmann
appears to have faded in the scant polling that's been done in the
state... What she shouldn't do...is play lip service to the state while
actually concentrating elsewhere. New Hampshire voters are smart enough
to know a Potemkin campaign when they see one - like that of Rudy
Giuliani in 2008."
First Read
notes that everybody lost in yesterday's fight over the timing of
President Obama's jobs speech before a joint session of Congress.
"Yesterday's
standoff epitomized the chief weaknesses of both the White House and
House Republicans. Team Obama struggles mightily in communicating and in
its relationships on Capitol Hill and the rest of Washington (just talk
to any Democrat who works on the Hill)... In retrospect, you can
understand why the White House picked Sept. 7 (the date of the debate)
over Sept. 8 (the date of the first NFL game). But why didn't it try to
consult with Boehner earlier (say last week) and see if Tuesday could
have worked? The White House apparently was aiming for the venue of
Congress for this speech for weeks."
"Meanwhile, House Republicans
-- once again -- looked petty and disrespectful to a head of state who
won his office by a convincing margin in 2008, even if they were right
on the protocol front... It adds to the appearance that, overall,
congressional Republicans have one goal above all others: defeating the
president no matter what."
Bob Schieffer: "This is just really one of the most ridiculous episodes that I think
we've had in the last year or so, a year of ridiculous episodes."
Just in case you have no intention of getting a copy, the
Daily Beast summarizes the eight most surprising revelations from Dick Cheney's memoir,
In My Time.
Former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith stepped down as deputy mayor of New York City after his arrest following a report of a violent confrontation with his wife, the
New York Post reports.
A police report quoted his wife during the altercation: "I should have put a bullet through you years ago. You're not going to do this to me again."
For the first time this year, a new
Rasmussen survey finds Rick Perry leading President Obama in a general election match up, 44% to 41%.
He's the only current Republican running for president with a lead over Obama which could help erase the narrative that Mitt Romney is the "more electable" GOP candidate.
At a gathering of uncommitted social and evangelical conservatives, the
Texas Tribune reports Rick Perry "spent several hours patiently answering queries on a range of issues, from his stand on immigration reform to the depth of his commitment to oppose abortion."
"During one exchange, Perry was asked -- politely but directly -- to assure the group that nothing embarrassing in his personal life would emerge during the 2012 presidential campaign."
Said Perry: "I can assure you that there is nothing in my life that will embarrass you if you decide to support me for president."
A new
Franklin & Marshall poll in Pennsylvania finds President Obama's approval rate in the key presidential battleground state is just 34%.
But it looks like few politicians are popular in the state with Gov. Tom
Corbett (R), Sen. Bob Casey (D) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R) all with approval rates hovering around 30%.
Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball: "Remember, there are 23 Democratic-held Senate seats up for grabs this year, versus only 10 Republican-held seats. Realistically, only two of those 10 Republicans seats will be competitive next year: Nevada, a purple state where appointed Republican Sen. Dean Heller faces a tough challenge from Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley; and Massachusetts, a deep Blue state where Republican Sen. Scott Brown will try to hold on against an as-yet unknown Democratic challenger. Both Republicans are vulnerable, but favored."
"Meanwhile, Republicans have plenty of chances to gain the four seats they need to guarantee them control of the Senate next year."
For the first time since the American invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying, the
New York Times reports.
"The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years, and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting."
"You can talk about policy differences without
suggesting that your colleague somehow misled the president. You know, I
don't appreciate the attack on my integrity that that implies."
-- Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, quoted by
Reuters, "firing back" at what former Vice President Dick Cheney wrote in his memoir,
In My Time.
President Obama will now address a joint session of Congress next Thursday to lay out his plan for jobs and the economy, the
Washington Post reports.
"The date is one day later than the president requested earlier Wednesday, but that date conflicted with a scheduled debate of Republican presidential candidates in California, drawing objections from GOP lawmakers."
"The agreement followed an afternoon full of political maneuvering, injecting still more ill will into the ongoing fight between the White House and Congressional Republicans in their attempts to gain the upperhand in the debate over how to solve the nation's ongoing economic problems. And both sides quickly pointed fingers at one another for the scheduling problem."
The Fix: "No one wins a process fight: If Obama had doubled down on the Sept. 7 date, the coverage leading up to the speech would have focused heavily -- if not exclusively -- on the process (why the White House had done it, etc.) of the speech rather than the policy of it. Process battles, while beloved by reporters, are rarely a good thing for politicians and policy-makers."
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