Bloomberg Launches Anti-Gun Ad Blitz; McCaskill Backs Gay Marriage; Tim Johnson To Announce Plans

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) "will begin bankrolling a $12 million national advertising campaign that focuses on senators who he believes might be persuaded to support a pending package of federal regulations to curb gun violence" (New York Times).

  • A "crowd of top tech stars -- led by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg" -- "are seriously exploring the formation of a new independent expenditure group focused on a range of issues, including education and immigration reform" (San Francisco Chronicle).

  • "On the eve of the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on gay marriage," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) "used old and new media Sunday to explain why she now supports marriage equality" (St. Louis Beacon).

  • VP Biden will attend a SC Dem dinner the weekend before the SC-01 special, "though he doesn't plan to campaign for" nominee Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) (CNN).

  • NYC Mayor '13: Jonathan Prince, who served as John Edwards' '08 dep. mgr, will serve as chief campaign strategist/mgr. for '09 nominee/ex-Comp. Bill Thompson (D) (New York Times).

  • Boston Mayor '13: Tom Menino "is struggling with the decision about whether to run for a sixth term" (Boston Globe).

  • AK SEN: LG Mead Treadwell (R) accused Sen. Mark Begich (D) of having taken his seat in a "bloodless coup" (Politico).

  • KY SEN: Bill Clinton is not "choosing" Sec/State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) over Ashley Judd (D) "or changing allegiances," but has "expressed encouragement to both, believing it's unlikely that both would enter the race" (ABC News). Meanwhile, Judd says "that her mom, country legend Naomi Judd can't wait to turn her garage into a campaign headquarters" (WXIX-TV).

  • SD SEN: Sen. Tim Johnson (D) "will make an announcement on his political future" Tuesday, and he "is widely expected to declare that he will retire at the end of 2014 (Politico)

  • NY GOV: GOP chair Ed Cox "mentions a pair of county executives – Chautauqua's Greg Edwards and Westchester's Rob Astorino – as the kind of opponent he'd like to see warming up" against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) (Buffalo News).

  • DC Mayor '14: Councilor Muriel Bowser (D) "launched a mayoral bid Saturday, kicking off a year-long Democratic primary campaign that is likely to center on the pace of progress in city government, the ethics of elected officials and the direction of the city’s remarkable growth" (Washington Post).

  • Leon Panetta son/Monterey Co. DA Jimmy Panetta "says he may run for Congress" when Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) eventually retires (Monterey County Weekly).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day


• Jennifer Granholm's decision not to run for Senate shouldn't come as a surprise. While she remains a gifted communicator of the Democratic message on the national level, she left office with low approval ratings, and her move to California would likely have been a problem for her campaign.

• If the GOP can nationalize its race against Begich, it'll have a great shot, and if Begich can focus the contest on his local work, he'll be in good shape. But possible GOP candidate Mead Treadwell raises an interesting question: What role will the late Alaska icon Ted Stevens, dogged in 2008 by a corruption trial that was later thrown out, play in 2014, and will any perceptions that he got a raw deal hurt Begich?

• This could be an important week for Rep. Stephen Lynch's (D-MA) SEN bid. Running behind in the polls and failing to secure some of the union endorsements he hoped would help him against Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), the kickoff of the debates between the two Democrats gives Lynch the opportunity to catch voters' eyes -- if anyone's paying attention.

• Bowser tried to walk two fine tightropes in her announcement in Northeast on Saturday. She subtly hinted at the cloud of corruption over the Gray admin., but she knows if Gray doesn't run she'll need to win voters in Wards 5, 7 and 8 against white candidates like Jack Evans and Tommy Wells. Meanwhile, Bowser's ties to Adrian Fenty -- she was his anointed successor on the council, and she's reassembling the ex-mayor's campaign team -- might help her in neighborhoods Fenty won, but she needs to avoid being branded as a continuation of his mayoralty.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "A Dominican prosecutor said Friday that a local attorney told him someone claiming to work for" The Daily Caller "paid him to find prostitutes who would lie about having sex" with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ). "Daily Caller Editor Tucker Carlson categorically denied the allegations" (AP).

  • "I have to admit, when he took out the knife and started stabbing it, I think he might need a little bit of professional counseling on his anger management issues. ... there was a little bit of anxiety in his stabs there." -- Karl Rove, on Stephen Colbert's treatment of Rove’s canned ham likeness "Ham Rove" (ABC News).

  • Assemb. Joe Cryan (D), "who’s being touted as the party’s next state chairman has an insatiable lust for bondage, oral sex and spanking" (New York Post)

  • "The biggest surprise has been the defeatist attitude of many Republicans in Washington." -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), on what's surprised him after 10 weeks on the job (Dallas Morning News).

  • Ex-MA LG Kerry Healey (R) "was named President-elect of Babson College on Sunday night, making her the first woman to lead the college since it was founded nearly 100 years ago" (Boston Globe).

  • "And he's actually become a pretty good painter. I'll just admit that this was a surprise to me when I found this out about it a year ago. ... So if you've got a dog, I'm sure based on your past relationship, he would like to paint it." -- Ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush (R), on George W. Bush (CNN).

  • The IRS "got a rebuke from Congress for wasting taxpayer dollars" on a training video that parodies "Star Trek". The video cost about $60,000 and "does not appear to have any training value." (AP).

  • "(He) should go back to Maryland where he quite successfully legalized gambling, gay marriage, the end of the death penalty, and hiked taxes on everyone and everything he could think of." -- SC Gov. Nikki Haley (R) adviser Tim Pearson, on MD Gov. Martin O'Malley's (D) Charleston speech criticizing his boss. (Charleston Post & Courier).

  • "Athens-Clarke police arrested" Rep. John Barrow's (D-GA) 18-year-old son James Barrow "for underage drinking Thursday after he caused a disturbance in his mother’s veterinary clinic." This "is the third arrest for the teen on alcohol-related charges" (Augusta Chronicle).

  • "How to drink a lot on Easter" (Daily Caller)

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • "Sunny Day Real Estate," a pioneer of the emo rock genre broke up after their second album, with half the band forming the "Foo Fighters" and one member embarking on a solo Christian rock career.

  • The winner is Susan Lindahl, and here's her Swizzle Challenge: "A British firm was established by an aviation maintenance facility in 2012 that services commercial airlines. The firm is owned by a licensed commercial airline pilot, who also happens to be the singer of what well known band that has sold over 85 million albums since he joined in 1981?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"America Rising: Mitt Romney staffer starting opposition research group" (Washington Post).

...CHASER

Chaser: "As his eight day bus tour through Iowa winds down, John Edwards is starting to bring audiences to their feet when he talks about America rising" (ABC News).

Quinn McCord, Guest Editor
Sarah Mimms, Editor