Senate Passes Immigration Reform, Obama to South Africa, Rep. Campbell Calls It Quits

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • The Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform legislation on Thursday by a 68-32 margin as 14 GOPers voted with Dems. The issue now moves to the House, which Speaker John Boehner said will bring up its own version of the bill (New York Times).

  • Backers of immigration reform have outspent opponents by more than 2.5 to 1, with the Mark Zuckerberg-backed FWD.us providing the lion's share of that money to two front groups (Hotline).

  • Pres. Obama left Dakar, Senegal at 10:47 a.m. local time, bound for Johannesburg, South Africa (pool report). A South African official said former Pres. Nelson Mandela has been put on life support (CNN).

  • CA 45: Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) became the second member to announce he'll retire at the end of the 113th Congress. State Sen. Mimi Walters (R) said she's "definitely running," while at least 7 other candidates are looking at the race (Orange County Register).

  • MA GOV: AG Martha Coakley (D), "whose political standing has rebounded after her embarrassing defeat" in the '10 SEN special election, "is giving serious consideration to running for governor," according to Dems. EMILY's List and other groups have asked Coakley to run (Boston Globe).

  • AR SEN: Top GOP foreign policy hawks "feted" Rep. Tom Cotton (R) at Dan Senor's home. Sheldon and Miriam Adelson showed up at the event, which raised $100K for Cotton's campaign cmte (Politico).

  • TX GOV: State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) "hasn't learn from her own example" as a single, teenage mother, Gov. Rick Perry (R) said at a pro-life convention in Dallas. Davis called Perry's remarks "without dignity." Davis: "They are small words that reflect a dark and negative point of view" (Texas Tribune).

  • FL 09: Ex-Orange Co. Charter Review Commission member Peter Vivaldi (R), who is "quick to establish his Puerto Rican cred," has formed an exploratory cmte for a possible bid against Rep. Alan Grayson (D) (Orlando Sentinel).

  • IL 10: Boehner held a fundraiser Thursday night for ex-Rep. Bob Dold (R), who lost his seat to Rep. Brad Schneider (D) in 2012 (Chicago Sun-Times).

  • Ret. Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright "has received a target letter informing him that he's under investigation for allegedly leaking information about" the Stuxnet virus, which attacked computers at Iranian nuclear facilities (NBC News). Also: "US agent was allegedly bribed with cash, egg rolls" (AP).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day


• Hours after Campbell announced his retirement, rumors started flying that Rep. Gary Miller (R) might try to run for Campbell's seat (he used to represent about a quarter of the district before redistricting). There may be nothing to the rumors, but they illustrate how tough Miller's situation is in CA-31 after a fluke win in 2012. Though all the attention is on the CD's intra-Dem slugfest right now, Miller may be the only member of the House more likely to lose than win at this early stage.

• Don't forget, even after her loss in 2010, MA voters still gave Coakley some of the highest approval and favorable ratings in the state. The only person polls find rated more favorably than Coakley these days: You guessed it, ex-Sen. Scott Brown. A rematch in the making?

• Providence Mayor Angel Taveras (D) is eyeing a bid for governor, but one of his likely primary opponents, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, is scooping up endorsements from the country's top mayors. Raimondo, who already has a big cash advantage on Taveras and Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I), is getting fundraising help from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • SC legislators "ended this year's legislative session ... by overriding 46 of Gov. Nikki Haley's 81 budget vetoes" (AP).

  • "I'd love to be at this table, right, when you have [Sen. Chuck] Schumer and [Sen. Bob] Menendez saying, 'You know what you guys, we've got this great bill, and it's going to help you win a presidential election.' ... Who believes this shit? Who in the world falls for this?" -- Ex-Rep./CO GOV candidate Tom Tancredo (R), on comprehensive immigration reform (National Journal).

  • Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will "continue to travel to early primary states with the understanding that I’m interested," because in those states "people pay attention" (The State). Paul is in Columbia today for an SC GOP fundraiser.

  • "I don't know why she wouldn't run" -- House Dem leader Nancy Pelosi, on Hillary Clinton (USA Today).

  • Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) is looking for co-sponsors for a bill that "would prohibit the District of Columbia, and no other jurisdiction, from using" traffic cameras, according to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) (Detroit Free Press).

  • VA Gov. Bob McDonnell "refused to answer questions on whether he knew that an expensive Rolex watch he received from his wife was, in fact, a gift from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr." (Richmond Times-Dispatch).

  • "Tonight @CoryBooker and Newark resident @shankdog3000 just rescued a neglected dog that appeared to be in cage in an empty lot for 4 days." -- CBS's @ClaireMoncrief, on Newark's Mayor (Twitchy). BOOKER!

  • "Car crash leaves man, dog coated in paint" (AP).

  • "Friend, our campaign has produced a limited number of 'English: The Official Language of the USA' T-Shirts, and I wanted you to be the first to get one" -- GA SEN candidate/Rep. Paul Broun (R), in a note to donors (email).

  • New foods appearing at this year's Iowa State Fair include a shrimp corndog, a smoothie on a stick, a bacon-wrapped riblet on a stick (cc @JMartNYT), a coconut mountain on a stick and a fried brownie, of course, on a stick (Des Moines Register).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Wilt Chamberlain accompanied Richard Nixon to Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral.

  • Our winner is Jay O'Callaghan, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "What Florida governor switched parties and later ran on a legalized gambling platform?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"It’s just unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example" -- Perry (R), on Davis (Washington Post).

...CHASER

"Perry would 'absolutely' consider 2016 run" (USA Today)

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor