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Why the GOP Isn’t Attacking Obama Over Data Collection

When news broke that the Internal Revenue Service was targeting conservative groups, Republicans pounced on the revelations. House Speaker John Boehner memorably suggested that someone face prison time over it.

“My question isn’t about who’s going to resign,” he said last month. “My question is about who’s going to jail over this scandal.”

But not all controversial government programs are created equal. The recent reports, for example, that showed the breadth of the government’s secret data collection have congressional Republicans divided.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/why-the-gop-isn-t-attacking-obama-over-data-collection-20130610

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Why Isn’t Boehner a Target in Congressional Elections?

When Mark Sanford debated a cardboard cutout of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in his South Carolina race last week, it was a replay of a tried-and-true Republican strategy: Demonize Pelosi and wrap her like a stone around your opponent’s neck.

The tactic can be effective, torn from a well-worn playbook that dates back nearly a decade. But it does beg a question: Why isn’t Speaker John Boehner targeted in the same way by Democrats?

Unlike his predecessor as speaker, the Ohio Republican has not yet become a standard attack line for Democrats in races nationwide, leaving some to wonder how the most powerful elected leader in the Republican Party has escaped unscathed.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/why-isn-t-boehner-a-target-in-congressional-elections-20130501

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Round Two for Gun Control May Take a ‘Next Newtown’

A week after gun legislation suffered a stinging defeat in the Senate, an uncomfortable realization has settled over the Capitol that it will likely take another mass shooting or similar tragedy to reignite momentum for gun control.

President Obama called last week’s vote “round one.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledged that it was “just the beginning.” But gun-control advocates, both inside and outside of Congress, have identified no immediate path forward to alter a political landscape that left them five votes short in the Senate of passing a bill requiring expanded background checks for gun purchases.

Focus in the Capitol has already shifted to immigration, renewed fiscal skirmishes, and the Boston bombings (though some questions remain over how the suspects obtained firearms). Even Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the chief Republican coauthor of the background-check plan, has said it is time to move on.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/round-two-for-gun-control-may-take-a-next-newtown-20130424

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George W. Bush’s Reluctant Re-Emergence on the Political Scene

A few weeks into his post-presidential life, George W. Bush flew off with an old friend to launch the arduous task of raising a half-billion dollars to build his library and refurbish his tattered legacy.

A few weeks into his post-presidential life, George W. Bush flew off with an old friend to launch the arduous task of raising a half-billion dollars to build his library and refurbish his tattered legacy.

After a successful pitch to a wealthy prospective donor over dinner in Lexington, Ky., his traveling companion arrived at Bush’s suite next morning to find the 43rd President in a wistful mood.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/george-w-bush-s-reluctant-re-emergence-on-the-political-scene-20130422?page=1

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Still a Long Way To Go in Senate On Gun Control

Democrats were feeling pretty good last week after inking a bipartisan agreement on sweeping background checks for gun purchases and getting the votes to begin a Senate debate on new gun restrictions. But now they return to the Capitol at just the beginning of what will be a long, tough road to turn gun legislation into law.

First, the bill must survive this week’s planned debate in the Senate. And it’s still unclear whether the pact struck by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania to expand background checks has the 60 votes needed to pass. Indeed, it looks like it might not.

“Just because your leadoff hitter is on base in the first inning doesn’t mean you won the game,” a GOP Senate leadership aide said. “It just means your leadoff hitter’s on first base.”

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/still-a-long-way-to-go-in-senate-on-gun-control-20130415

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Rand Paul’s Play to Win Over Black Voters at Howard University

The GOP minority outreach efforts continue: This time, it’s Sen. Rand Paul taking the message to a historically black university.

Paul will be delivering a speech at Howard University on Wednesday, where he’ll talk about “the importance of outreach to younger voters, as well as minority groups,” according to his office. He also plans to address school choice and civil liberties.

The Kentucky Republican’s appearance echoes the recommendations made in the Republican National Committee’s autopsy report, detailing why the party lost the 2012 election and urging the party to court minority and young voters. Paul’s positions on foreign policy, Internet freedom, and reforming drug laws appeal to younger voters on college campuses. He also has targeted mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes, which disproportionately affects African-Americans.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/rand-paul-s-play-to-win-over-black-voters-at-howard-university-20130408

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Why Are Republicans Raising Money for a Scandal-Plagued Congressman?

If Congress operated according to public opinion, Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee would be a pariah in the halls of the House.

A self-proclaimed social conservative, DesJarlais has been in political trouble since news reports revealed he pressured a former patient of his to get an abortion after they had an affair, details that emerged during divorce proceedings. Later, after he won reelection, reports showed he and his wife had agreed to have two abortions before their divorce.

But unlike some other scandal-wracked politicians like Anthony Weiner, Eric Massa, or Eliot Spitzer, DesJarlais hasn’t become an outcast at all. Republican leaders haven’t punished him. He still holds positions on the Agriculture and, yes, the Oversight and Government Reform committees. Even more glaring: He’s getting fundraising assistance on Tuesday from six influential colleagues, including three committee chairmen (GOP Reps. Darrell Issa of California, John Kline of Minnesota, and Frank Lucas of Oklahoma) and two potential Senate candidates (Kline and Rep. Tom Price of Georgia).

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-are-republicans-raising-money-for-a-scandal-plagued-congressman-20130318

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Marco Rubio’s State of the Union Rebuttal May Be a Tall Order

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida declared himself “honored” to be asked to give the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Given the sorry history of partisan rebuttals of presidential remarks, though, he just might want to reconsider.

In the 47 years since Republicans hatched the idea, Rubio is the 120th officeholder to tackle what most politicians consider an impossible task: to try to top a president of the United States on a night when the perks of the office are very much on display.

“It is actually an awful job to have,” said Norman Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who is an expert on Congress. “You are either speaking to the camera with no audience, or with an audience a media person conjured up. Either way, you look so much smaller than the president standing in the House chamber behind the presidential seal.”

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/marco-rubio-s-state-of-the-union-rebuttal-may-be-a-tall-order-20130212

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What 3 Voting-Age Maps Tell Us About White America

The narrative surrounding the dramatic demographic shifts in the U.S. that The Next America covers starts with a dominant white, aging population that gives way to a young, diverse cohort.

The changes had been happening slowly but steadily. Then, between 2004, when George Bush was reelected, and 2008, when Barack Obama handily defeated Sen. John McCain for president, becoming the first African-American president in U.S. history, something happened. Traditionally red states started turning purple. Minority and youth voters came out in droves. Demographers and experts alike who had been predicting generational shifts between the gray and the brown for quite some time were getting more attention.

Now, using raw population data released by the Census Bureau, we’ve mapped these shifts of the voting-age population and the ensuing changes between non-Hispanic white shares and, well, everyone else. 

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/demographics/what-3-voting-age-maps-tell-us-about-white-america-20130212

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New Poll Shows Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio More Popular Than Obama

President Obama’s second term just got under way, but it’s outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who is far more popular, according to a new Quinnipiac poll testing politicians’ favorability ratings. Need evidence that House Republicans are unpopular? House Speaker John Boehner sits at the bottom of the list, by far, in terms of net favorability. The poll, which surveyed 1,772 registered voters nationally, was conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.

Here’s how all the nine politicians fared, from most popular to least.

+27 net favorability Clinton is flying high after leaving Foggy Bottom and returning to private life. As she decides whether run for president in 2016, she’ll have political capital to spend. 

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/new-poll-shows-hillary-clinton-marco-rubio-more-popular-than-obama-20130208