Bobby Jindal in Politico on race relations 50 years after the March on Washington: “There is no more shallow, hollow, or soulless way to think about human beings than in terms of their skin color. It is completely inane. Under what logic would any intelligent, logical, or decent person give any thought to the pigmentation of a person’s epidermis? It’s nothing short of immoral, not to mention stupid (oops…there’s that word again).” More: we still place far too much emphasis on our ‘separateness,’ our heritage, ethnic background, skin color, etc. We live in the age of hyphenated Americans: Asian-Americans, Italian-Americans, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Indian-Americans, and Native Americans, to name just a few. Here’s an idea: How about just ‘Americans?’”
Politico: "One of the Republican Party’s most prominent female donors is striking out on her own in an effort to steer more of the GOP’s ample financial resources to conservative women running for office. Pennsylvania energy executive Christine Toretti, who served as the finance committee co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee in 2012, [said] she will head up a super PAC dubbed Women Lead. The organization aims to drum up contributions from other deep-pocketed Republican women and use them to promote women running across the country in 2014 and beyond."
The Hill: "Republican infighting over the defunding of ObamaCare is growing increasingly nasty and could spill over into the 2014 elections. Hardline conservatives are pushing for the GOP to shut down the government if Democrats refuse to defund ObamaCare, and are threatening reprisals in primaries if they don’t get their way. Establishment Republicans are just as furious, and aren’t backing down. The GOP conflict is the most public — and heated — of any since Republicans lost the 2012 elections, and exposes a rift in the party that will likely grow deeper."
The New York Times’ Martin wonders how much influence Iowa will have in the 2016 GOP presidential contest.
CALIFORNIA: The Voice of the OC: “The victorious Mayor Bob Filner and his opponent, then-City Councilman Carl DeMaio — who is now running for Congress — shared a politically explosive Achilles heel: alleged inappropriate sexual behavior that was an open secret among some,” including one incident in a men’s room alleged by the Democratic city council president.
GEORGIA: EMILY's List is endorsing Democrat Michelle Nunn in the Georgia Senate race. "It's important that we elect a Democratic woman like Michelle, but it's just as important that we keep her right-wing, extremist opponents out of the Senate. Think about it this way. If you're looking for the next Todd Akin, Georgia's the place," EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock writes in their endorsement to their members, where the abortion rights group is throwing their weight behind the non-profit executive, who will face off against whoever emerges from a growing field of Republicans.
NEW JERSEY:AP: President Barack Obama has no plans to campaign on behalf of the underdog Democrat in an uphill battle against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and is weighing how much help to give his party's scandal-enmeshed candidate for governor of Virginia, where Democrats are more bullish about winning. It's the type of delicate, race-by-race calculation the White House repeatedly will have to make in the 2014, when Obama's own legacy will be on the line."
"Republican New Jersey Senate candidate Steve Lonegan called federal relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy, the superstorm that devastated the Jersey Shore last October and left thousands of people homeless, “over the top. 'I disagreed with Governor Christie and President Obama on Hurricane Sandy funding,' he told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki Saturday. 'I thought it was just too much money.' Lonegan said he was concerned that there weren’t enough safeguards to ensure money went to homeowners instead of government programs, saying 'There’s all kinds of pork barrel spending in that bill.'"
Newark Star-Ledger: "Mayor Cory Booker addressed thousands who gathered" Saturday "at the National Mall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, urging listeners to continue fighting for social and economic justice. 'We in my generation cannot now afford to sit back consuming all of our blessings getting dumb, fat and happy, thinking that we have achieved freedom,' Booker said. 'The dream still demands ... the moral conscience of our country still calls us.'"
NEW YORK:The New York Times notes that before Bill de Blasio was the apparent front runner for mayor of New York he was the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 bid for U.S. Senate. And it’s not a role he fit into comfortably: “Mr. de Blasio has soared to the top of the polls in the Democratic mayoral primary promising a new kind of leadership that can knit together New York City’s many factions — uniting people across all boroughs who have felt left out during the 12-year tenure of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. An examination of Mr. de Blasio’s management of Mrs. Clinton’s first run for office, however, reveals that his inclinations — inclusive and easygoing but frequently indecisive — could be agonizingly inefficient in a high-pressure, ever-shifting situation. He was so deliberative, in fact, that he was eventually elbowed out during the final stretch of the campaign.”
On Sunday, the New York Times editorial page endorsed Christine Quinn.
SOUTH CAROLINA:The Greenville News: “The political spotlight will be on Greenville today as Republican Gov. Nikki Haley announces her candidacy for a second term, flanked by three other high-profile GOP governors, outside the BI-LO Center. The announcement is scheduled for 4 p.m. … Haley, who rose from obscurity in a 2010 primary crowded with well-known political figures to become the state’s first woman governor, will be joined by Rick Perry of Texas, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin – all considered possible presidential candidates in 2016. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, whom Haley appointed to replace Jim DeMint after he resigned to lead the Heritage Foundation, will be the emcee.”
The New York Times takes a look at the growing GOP primary field against Lindsey Graham. "But to stand a chance against the politician who succeeded Strom Thurmond in 2003, conservatives will have to win a civil war of their own. At least 40 groups align themselves along Tea Party and Libertarian lines, and trying to unify them to topple the state’s senior senator will be no easy task."
VIRGINIA: Ken Cuccinell’s campaign was out Friday with an ad hitting Terry McAuliffe for GreenTech. It pivots to paint Cuccinelli as having a high ethical standard.
Anti-abortion rights group Susan B. Anthony List’s PAC Women Speak Out is out with this Crazy Eddie-themed radio ad also hitting McAuliffe for GreenTech. Crazy Eddie’s greatest hits and his sentencing to eight years in prison for falsifying records.
The Washington Post on Saturday with a photo of a beaming McAuliffe in a Domino’s Pizza-labeled car: “As federal investigators probe whether top U.S. government officials gave special treatment to Terry McAuliffe’s GreenTech Automotive company, the controversy also has shed light on lobbying efforts by McAuliffe and two of his Northern Virginia business partners. One is Anthony D. Rodham, a brother of former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. The other is GreenTech co-founder and chief executive Xiaolin “Charles” Wang, an attorney with expertise in trade law and foreign investment who said he has second thoughts about going into business with a politician.”
