The Republican Governors Association is pushing back against Michael’s assertion that its flashy new web video was echoing “V for Vendetta.” The sequel video portrays a left-wing media conspiracy to discredit the original piece by tying it to violence, while largely echoing the stylistic and thematic qualities that drew comparisons to …
2012 Election
Reading the Immigration Smoke Signals
President Obama may have (one hopes inadvertently) killed the immigration bill prematurely last week, but that doesn’t mean that Senate Democrats aren’t still pushing ahead with the legislation. Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer last week introduced a 22-page outline of a bill – noticeably without South Carolina Republican …
Democrats Take a Page From the Frank Luntz Playbook
When Mitch McConnell unveiled his opposition to the Dodd financial reform bill last month, I highlighted the similarities between the minority leader’s floor speech and a memo from GOP message maven Frank Luntz. Their (mischaracterizing) argument was that the legislation would institutionalize Wall Street bailouts on the taxpayer’s …
Morning Must Reads: Spillover
President Barack Obama talks with U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, aboard Marine One as they fly along the coastline from Venice to New Orleans, La., May 2, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
–The Obama administration is now taking an “all hands on deck” approach to the …
The Call: Fascinating Florida
This week’s podcast features Jay and Michael Grunwald talking about the latest in Sunshine State Senate drama. Enjoy:
Morning Must Reads: Acceleration
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–The economy grew at 3.2 percent the annual rate in the first quarter, “setting the stage for gains in employment that may help the recovery broaden and accelerate,” according to Bloomberg.
–The Goldman case goes from civil suit to preliminary criminal investigation. For all the talk …
Crist Exits Stage Left, And The Show’s Just Getting Started
Florida Governor Charlie Crist exited the Republican senate primary with much fanfare this evening, announcing his intention to run without party affiliation before a hometown crowd of supporters in St. Petersburg and under the bright lights of a captivated national media. His decision not only launched a fascinating three-way Senate …
Harry Reid Runs on Health Care
Jon Ralston gets a hold of three new ads from the Nevada Senator’s re-election campaign:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-tJ4bUZzsY]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngJtaYV_2Bg]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOIVzzRIYU]
There’s a brief biographical aside in the second one, but for the most part, …
And the Winners Are…
The deadtree cover this week is TIME’s annual 100 most influential people of the year. Who’d we miss? Who shouldn’t be on this list? Let the debate begin.
Update:
Even better: TIME’s least influential list. Hysterical.
Morning Must Reads: Tough Call
Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
–Charlie Crist is expected to announce he’s running as a no party affiliation candidate at an event in St. Petersburg this afternoon. There’s a lot of good analysis out there on what it means for the race; more on this later.
–Marc Ambinder reports Crist reached out to …
The Cornhusker Kickback Take 2
A conservative Democratic senator is a hold out, and possibly deciding vote, on pivotal legislation that tops the President’s agenda. He had a deal that benefits his Midwestern state, but it was taken out and now his attempts to put it back in and the substance of the deal itself is drumming up a bit of controversy. The Cornhusker …
Crist (I-FL)?
Politico is reporting that Florida Governor Charlie Crist will continue his bid for Mel Martinez’s old Senate seat as an Independent. Rumors have swirled for days that Crist, who is losing in polls by double digits to former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio for the GOP nomination, was considering an outside bid. The governor was …
Republicans Cave on Financial Reform, Debate to Begin
I was just about to hit send on a post about how the Dems were rolling out cots for a forced all night session on financial regulatory reform when I got this email from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
“I appreciate the efforts of Sen. Shelby to work toward a bipartisan solution on an issue that will have an impact on nearly
…