The Assault Weapons Ban Is Dead (in the Senate)- http://abcn.ws/WBTLli
Long Live Assault Weapons Ban - (White House Chief of Staff says they'll find the votes) - http://wapo.st/Yn47WN
Tweet of the Day - Donald Rumsfeld on the Iraq War - "10 yrs ago began the long, difficult work of liberating 25 mil Iraqis. All who played a role in history deserve our respect & appreciation."
That started a bit of an online debate - http://abcn.ws/WCra0s
Drumbeat on Syria - After reports of chemical attack, Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain want action against Syria - ""President Obama has said that the use of weapons of mass destruction by Bashar Assad is a 'red line' for him that 'will have consequences,'" their statement reads. "If today's reports are substantiated, the President's red line has been crossed, and we would urge him to take immediate action to impose the consequences he has promised."
After St. Patrick's Day Party Tonight (Belated), Obama is Bound for Israel, Will Speak to the People - h ttp://abcn.ws/WAN9Dv
Rand Paul Endorses Pathway to Citizenship (SHHHH)- The most interesting Rand Paul quote on his push for immigration: "I'm open to the whole Latin American romance language tradition."
But that wasn't the news.
The news is that Rand Paul supports a pathway to citizenship. He just doesn't want to call it that. And he was pretty up front about it.
Here's what Jim Avila reported this afternoon: "Sen. Rand Paul concedes that on immigration, he is stuck between what he says is polarized wording: He won't say the word "citizenship" in describing his pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants, and his followers won't stop calling the road to full citizenship "amnesty."'
"In a phone press conference this afternoon to explain his earlier remarks to reporters, the Kentucky senator - who is clearly testing the presidential campaign waters - said: "I think we're trapped, the immigration debate is trapped by two terms, 'path to citizenship' and 'amnesty' … Can't we have reform and just not call them by names that discourage the progress going further?" http://abcn.ws/ZR7wtN
And more from Shush Walshe - http://abcn.ws/11f6Tkf
Getting beyond those terms won't be easy.
Marco Rubio backs a so-called pathway to citizenship, but he said it isn't what a lot of people are imagining it is.'There's no such thing as a pathway to citizenship,' Rubio said on CNN this afternoon, arguing that the process includes applying for a greencard after getting a visa.
Rick Klein points to the obvious landmines in the term "pathway to citizenship." Just ask Jeb Bush, who ran afoul of efforts by Rubio and John McCain for a while.
"It suggests a party that's wrestling deeply with how to address issues around illegal immigration without alienating either Latino voters or a GOP base that continues to deride notions of citizenship for illegal immigrants as dangerous for both the party and the country.
Perhaps paradoxically, the careful language being used by Republicans has immigration-reform advocates hopeful that a major immigration bill will be passed this year - most likely with the support of GOP leaders and a large chunk of the party." http://abcn.ws/ZszU7M
Sliding Definition - Everybody seems to mean something else when they use the term "pathway to citizenship". Fusion's Ted Hesson breaks down the differences. What you should think when you hear those words come out of various people's mouths - http://abcn.ws/YSCoMJ
Rick Perry Will Announce on 2016 Bid Later This Year-Texas Gov. Rick Perry will announce whether he is eying a 2016 presidential bid later this year, a spokesman for Perry told ABC News. http://abcn.ws/Xo0Ra4 (Arlette Saenz)
Debt DIY - Va. Residents Invited to Balance County Budget Themselves-Conservatives are fond of saying that if families can sit down at the kitchen table and balance a budget each year, why can't Congress? Starting Tuesday, one Virginia official is putting that problem back in mom and dad's hands. http://abcn.ws/WTY91h (Sarah Parnass)
Paul Ryan Rips Obama's Leadership, Prepares to Pass Path to Prosperity 3.0 - House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, the former Republican vice presidential nominee, took charge at a Capitol news conference this morning, bashing President Obama for failing to release a budget proposal on time while promoting his own plan to balance the budget in 10 years. http://abcn.ws/ZbrNcH (John Parkinson)
More on Iraq -
Iraq Then and Now: http://abcn.ws/11eS6WL (Photo Blog)
Storify: The #IraqWar began 10 years ago today. Twitter users look back on the day combat in Iraq first began on March 19, 2003. http://abcn.ws/WCra0s
10-Year Iraq War Timeline: On the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, here's a look back at pivotal moments of the war, from the capture of former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein to the prison scandal of Abu Ghraib. http://abcn.ws/145yrcg
10 Years After the Iraq Invasion - The 10th anniversary of the start of the U.S. war in Iraq is a muted affair with no official commemorations planned in either Washington or Baghdad http://abcn.ws/ZqKUCE (Luis Martinez)
Sequestration Slashes Scholarships for Children of Iraq and Afghanistan War Casualties and Military Members - On the 10-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, and scholarships for children of troops who died fighting in that conflict are being cut by thousands of dollars, thanks to sequestration. http://abcn.ws/15XYcJS (Sarah Parnass)
Mark Sanford Mounts His Comeback - Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose career imploded when it turned out that what he said was a Appalachian Trail hiking trip was actually a visit to his mistress in Argentina, began his return to politics with phone calls to local Republicans. http://abcn.ws/1497eWj (Chris Good)
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