By Julie Rath, on Wed Jul 3, 2013 at 9:15 AM ET  Dear Jonathan,
When you first told me you were in the World Series of Poker last year (8th place, you stud!) and that you would be returning to Vegas to compete again this week, I was ecstatic for you. I really was. Then you spoiled it by sending me a link that showed what you wore last time. I don’t mean to be harsh, but the words that come to mind are Fashion Train Wreck.
Jonathan, I suspect your reasoning was to dress like an amateur so the pros would think you were easy prey, but did you also want them (and everyone watching on TV) to think you were a dork? Now of course I know you are NOT a dork, but please make a note for future reference, wearing sports jerseys in general, much less on multiple days in a row, is not a good look.
So let’s put the past behind us. This year, I urge you to know when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, and when to step away from the sports jerseys. Try a Hawaiian shirt instead. It has a lower dork-factor but still sends the message that you’re a casual player.
Good luck Jonathan! My money’s on you.
With best regards,
Julie Rath
Rath & Co. Men’s Style Consulting
By Jason Atkinson, on Wed Jul 3, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 3:34 PM ET
I realize that this is supposed to be an attack video; but the tune is so catchy that if I were the Grimes campaign, I might appropriate it for a positive ad campaign.
What rhymes with Alison Lundergan Grimes?
- Better Kentucky times.
- Fewer electoral crimes.
- Gin and tonics with limes.
Come on, RP Nation — your turn:
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 3:23 PM ET
By Lauren Mayer, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET Since I committed to writing and posting a song at the beginning of every week about current events, it’s been an interesting experiment in creativity and inspiration. There are hundreds of books, courses, websites and experts who purport to know the secret to writing, but it seems like the advice usually boils down to two things: Write about what you care about, and write regularly whether or not you feel inspired. Which all sounds great, until you’re staring at a blank screen (or blank piece of paper, in the pre-computer days) and thinking, “What now?”
By Friday or Saturday, I’m usually poking around various political websites (particularly this one!) and watching Daily Show monologues to see what topic has caught people’s attention. This was really easy during the election, with a surfeit of fabulous memes like killing Big Bird, ‘Binders of Women,’ or ’47 Percent.’ But current events don’t always skew so colorfully, and frequently I feel like I’m scrambling to find anything to write – anyone who’s ever coped with a deadline knows that feeling of, Oh well, even Dorothy Parker wasn’t brilliant every time. (Or Ellen DeGeneres, or Weird Al Yankovic, or Michele Bachmann, or whoever your favorite humorist is . . . )
However, this past week was chock full of big news stories, so much so that I had a hard time deciding. Scalia’s dissent in the DOMA case was tempting – his rant about the rationale being “legalistic argle-bargle” sounded like a temper tantrum in a Dr. Seuss book. And living in the San Francisco area, I loved the fun, colorful way the city celebrated – literally so, with City Hall bathed in rainbow lighting. (My suburban girlfriend met her GBF – gay best friend, just in case – in the Castro the night after the decision. She couldn’t figure out why there were so many Ikea signs and flags around, til someone pointed out that the blue & yellow signs were actually Equal Rights emblems, not Ikea logos.)
But there was something so irresistable about the news from the Texas Legislature last week, which had all the elements of a great story: Noisy crowds, valiant efforts by an outnumbered heroine, iconic pink sneakers, and even a few idiotic rape comments thrown in for good measure. (See Texas Rep. Jodie Laubenberg’s curious explanation that a rape exception to her abortion ban wasn’t necessary because rape kits ‘clean everything out.) Plus I love Wendy Davis’ backstory, a teenage single mom from a trailer park, working her way up to Harvard Law School and a state Senate seat, while still maintaining the proud Texas tradition of big hair.
Since Rick Perry immediately convened another emergency session, the ultimate outcome is up in the air, but last week’s filibuster is one moment in Texas politics the whole country won’t forget very soon – so to commemorate it, here’s The Ballad Of Wendy (‘She Shut That Whole Thing Down’)
By RP Nation, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 2:00 PM ET  This has been one of the most difficult and most amazing 48 hours that I can remember. On the heels of a week that caused us to hurt and celebrate over the decisions of our United States Supreme Court, I thought that we had seen it all. Saturday afternoon, just after 1:30, the only lightning bolt to hit Indianapolis struck out of the clear blue sky and hit the sports field of Goldman Union Camp Institute. G.U.C.I. is the youth summer camp for this region of the Union for Reform Judaism. That bolt of lightning struck three campers. This news has been shared through media sources all across the country (and even in Israel). As those of us who were first responders provided emergency medical care until rescue teams arrived with ambulances, hundreds of children were provided for and cared for in ways that proved to me why this camp has been such a force in molding the future leaders of our communities over the last 60 plus years. I arrived at the sports field just after the first of five emergency vehicles. What I witnessed already happening was something horrific and amazing, and both at the same time. Yes, three campers were seriously injured. The emergency medical care that they were receiving from counselors and staff was nothing short of miraculous. Our camp is staffed primarily by college and post graduate school age young adults. The courage, the professionalism, and the obvious love that these people showed in the most awful of situations will stay with me for the rest of my life.
We helped get the three campers to the ambulances, and helped the emergency teams get out of camp, avoiding the media that had already gathered at our gates. At that point, we were able to learn that the rest of our staff had already rallied and engaging our youth in incredible ways. We gathered campers into one major area, and without prompting, our rising high school seniors launched into an immediate improvisational comedy act to keep campers’ attentions, and then took it upon themselves to plan the entire camp wide evening programs. By Sunday morning, our staff had camp running at a level that kept us moving forward and kept our youth focused, all ensuring the vibrancy of their experience. All who need to process are receiving love and appropriate care.
We have spent the last 48 hours taking care of families of our children, staying active at the hospital as our injured children and their families are receiving the finest of care, and taking care of each other. Two of the campers have been released and gone home. One wants to return for the rest of this session. I apologize that this took 48 hours to write, but I have been, as they say, “knee deep in the hoopla.” As a first responder, I have tried to take care of others who were even more immediately involved and affected, and at the same time, help keep camp celebrating. My hat is off to Rabbi Mark Covitz (Camp Director), to the Assistant Director Joe Slade, and to our senior leadership. These people (our “top deck”) are nothing short of amazing in how they handled and managed our efforts to heal and restore our camp family. Senior members of the URJ executive came to help, and expressed their own amazement at, and appreciation for, how well our crew was taking care of each other and of our camp.
In short, while I can never imagine using this episode as a tool for marketing this camp, I have to say that we learned firsthand something that we intrinsically always knew: Sending our kids to G.U.C.I. is not just a four week experience away from home. We groomed all of our leadership. From our Camp Director and Assistant Director, on down to our newest counselors: they were most all campers here, and grew up learning to love and care for this place and for each other. Over the last ten years serving as faculty here, I have watched many of these folks grow from awkward youth into amazing young leaders. These young adults are prepared for life and for leadership positions. They literally saved lives, physically, spiritually, and emotionally; a gift and blessing for which I will always stand in awe and for which I will always be grateful. Of course, we all pray for the healing of our campers and for their families. We are also thankful for God’s blessings that get shared here in such amazing ways. I worked with one unit today, as they were writing statements to go in a time capsule for the next generation of campers. I began to tear as I read the number of them that spoke of the campers love for their counselors, their cabin mates, and for the way in which they are cared for. Truly this is a day blessed by God.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET In his latest column for The Huffington Post, The RP argues that Alison Lundergan Grimes CAN defeat Mitch McConnell. But that much is out of her control. Here’s an excerpt:
 Alison Lundergan Grimes can beat Mitch McConnell. But like most congressional campaigns, which often can be decided by the national political winds, Grimes’ success will be determined by several factors over which she will be able to exercise very little oversight. Here are a few that might make the difference between a Grimes victory and a McConnell sixth term:
Barack Obama
The McConnell team has not merely hinted that it will be doing everything in its power to tie Alison Grimes to the President who is quite unpopular in this deeply red state; it has whack-a-moled the theme in all of its early political advertisements. Just this past week, a GOP SuperPAC spent more than a quarter of a million dollars attacking the non-announced Grimes as a Senator “who would jam through Obama’s agenda — massive spending, Obamacare, the war on coal.”
This case would ordinarily be a tough sell: Grimes has long had both feet planted in the Clinton camp, has received considerable support from the coal industry, and in the mostly administrative position of Secretary of State, has never had to take a position on the hot-button social and economic issues that have made Obama unpopular in the Bluegrass State. In her brief announcement press conference, she signaled an early distancing from the President when she dodged a reporter’s question about Obamacare by answering, “Regardless of the vote that is issued in this race, we cannot change who our president is. But we can change who we have in Washington representing Kentucky.”
Still, any case can be made when it is backed with many millions of dollars in television ads. Which brings us to Factor 2:
Click here to read the full piece.
By RP Staff, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 12:15 PM ET
If you haven’t yet subscribed to The RP’s KY Political Brief — prepared every weekday morning by wunderkind Bradford Queen with links to all of the day’s Kentucky political news — now is the time. Click here to subscribe FOR FREE!
Here’s what you may have missed today– all the latest on the upcoming epic battle between Mitch McConnell and Alison Lundergan Grimes:
IN WALKS GRIMES – “Ky. Secretary of State to challenge Mitch McConnell” by AP’s Roger Alford: “Declaring that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has “lost touch” with Kentucky voters, the state’s 34-year-old secretary of state announced Monday that she would seek to unseat him in 2014, ending a long search by Democrats for a competitive challenger to the deep-pocketed, five-term Republican. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, who had been touted as the Democrats’ best hope of defeating McConnell, began seriously considering the race after actress Ashley Judd opted out in March. Grimes, a lawyer from a well-connected Kentucky family who was first elected in 2011, launched her bid with tough words for the 71-year-old McConnell, the longest-serving U.S. senator in state history. … “I agree with thousands of Kentuckians that Kentucky is tired of 28 years of obstruction, that Kentucky is tired of someone who has voted against raising the minimum wage while all the while quadrupling his own net worth,” Grimes told reporters. “Kentucky is tired of a senior senator that has lost touch with Kentucky issues, voters and their values.”” [AP]
—The SCENE – Kevin Wheatley: “Besides [State Sen. and former Gov. Julian] Carroll, others in attendance Monday include former Gov. Martha Layne Collins, House Majority Caucus Chair Sannie Overly of Paris, Sen. Kathy Stein of Lexington, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian of Louisville and Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville. House Speaker Greg Stumbo also sent text messages from a vacation in Morocco Monday to House members in the meeting with Grimes.” [The State Journal]
—The TIMING – Ronnie Ellis: “… The timing of Grimes’ announcement may have been tied to Federal Election Commission campaign reporting dates. By waiting until Monday, Grimes didn’t have to see an empty campaign fund contrasted with McConnell’s well-stuffed coffers. McConnell has raised nearly $13 million but that doesn’t include how much he raised during the quarter which just ended, so his significant edge will only grow.” [CNHI]
—The WEEKS AHEAD – Ryan Alessi: “Jonathan Hurst who has been acting as an adviser to Grimes told reporters after the press conference that the next step is to begin the campaign process which will likely include announcements in several parts over the state in the next month. Hurst said decisions as to who will manage the campaign will also be made in the coming weeks.” [CN|2 Politics]
—C-J’s Joe Gerth, “Alison Lundergan Grimes to run against Sen. Mitch McConnell” [C-J]
—H-L’s Jack Brammer, “Grimes will challenge McConnell for U.S. Senate seat in 2014” [H-L]
—NYTimes, “Kentucky Secretary of State Will Challenge McConnell in Senate Race” [NYTimes]
—The Hill, “Democrats land top recruit to challenge McConnell in Kentucky” [The Hill]
—ABC News, “Alison Lundergan Grimes To Challenge Mitch McConnell For U.S. Senate In Kentucky” [ABC News]
GOP RESPONSE – McConnell statement, in an e-mail with subject line: “President Obama’s Kentucky Candidate”: “Accepting the invitation from countless Washington liberals to become President Obama’s Kentucky candidate was a courageous decision by Alison Lundergan Grimes and I look forward to a respectful exchange of ideas. The next sixteen months will provide a great opportunity for Kentuckians to contrast a liberal agenda that promotes a war on coal families and government rationed health care with someone who works everyday to protect Kentuckians from those bad ideas. Together we’ve invested a lot to ensure that Kentucky’s voice in the U.S. Senate is heard from the front of the line rather than the back-bench and I intend to earn the support to keep it there.”
—Sen. Damon Thayer criticized Grimes’ use of her old ‘Grimes for Secretary of State’ signage for the U.S. Senate announcement. In a series of tweets yesterday afternoon, Thayer, the Ky. Senate majority floor leader, raised questions about whether using the old backdrop was a potential violation of campaign finance laws. “@AlisonForKY banner at presser was for a state race. She used it to announce for federal race. Don’t think it’s legal. #KREF ruling needed … As Chief Elections Officer, @AlisonForKY should know the law.” Thayer tweeted. Some national Republican strategists joined in the discussion while Democrats defended her.
—MORE statements [CN|2 Politics]
DAYS UNTIL : Fancy Farm 2013: 32 … Next fundraising deadline: 90 … Primary Election filing deadline: 210 … Fancy Farm 2014: 396 … Ky. 2014 Primary Election day: 322 … 2014 General Election day: 490
THE ANALYSIS – “Re-Election Is Likely for McConnell, but Not Guaranteed,” NYTimes’ FiveThirtyEight blog: “Mr. McConnell, the Senate minority leader, is likely to win re-election. … However, he is unlikely to sail to victory. Ms. Grimes was elected to statewide office in 2011 with 60 percent of the vote. She has deep ties to Democratic politics, both in Kentucky and nationwide, as the daughter of the state’s former Democratic Party chairman, Jerry Lundergan. Those connections and the high-profile nature of the race should make it relatively easy for her to raise money. … While there have not yet been any nonpartisan surveys testing a potential contest between Mr. McConnell and Ms. Grimes, the four partisan polls that have been conducted so far (three by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling and one by the Republican-leaning Wenzel Strategies) have shown a relatively tight race, with Mr. McConnell leading by an average of 4.5 percentage points. … “In many ways, Ms. Grimes faces a challenge similar to that faced earlier this year by Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the Democrat who challenged Representative Mark Sanford in a special election in South Carolina’s First Congressional District: to defeat a vulnerable Republican opponent — Mr. Sanford because of his past scandals and Mr. McConnell because of his mediocre popularity — on solidly Republican terrain. Ms. Colbert Busch lost that race, and Ms. Grimes, too, will have a hard time overcoming Kentucky’s Republican gravity. The McConnell campaign will probably attempt to tie her to Mr. Obama, who remains highly unpopular in the state.” [NYTimes]
—“Crystal Ball holds firm on Likely R rating,” Larry Sabato tweets (@LarrySabato). “McConnell has enormous advantages in strongly anti-Obama KY. Low turnout midterm, too. … I’ve followed McConnell’s races since ’84. I’ll bet polls get close at some point in fall ’14. … KY doesn’t ‘love’ McConnell. It’s more of a business/ideological pact. McC won’t be caught napping, will pull away by end.”
—WaPo’s The Fix blog, “The nastiest Senate race in the country just started”: “Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ decision to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014 ensures the political world one thing: This will be the nastiest race in the country. Here’s why. … 1. National Democrats hate McConnell. Hate is a strong word. But it is not too strong a word for how Democrats feel about McConnell. … 2. McConnell is famous/infamous for the campaigns he runs. McConnell is legendary in political circles for his willingness to unapologetically savage the person he is running against. … 3. No one (really) knows who Lundergan Grimes is. Yes, she has been elected to statewide office. And, yes, her father is the former (and longtime) chairman of the state party — who also happens to be a friend of Bill Clinton. But, no, no one in the state really knows who Alison Lundergan Grimes is.” [WaPo]
—Kentucky Enquirer, “Grimes confronts tough, uphill task” [Enquirer]
—National Journal, “Grimes Offers a Preview for Red-State Democrats”: “Grimes will start out the race as an underdog, but has an inviting target in McConnell. Her biggest challenge will be distancing herself from the Obama administration’s unpopular policies on energy (read: coal) and gun rights. Democrats are capable of winning statewide races in Kentucky, but it’s tougher in a federal contest where control of the Senate is at stake. Her announcement was highly unconventional: on the week of July 4, without throngs of cheering supporters in attendance, having briefed only a small group of friends and allies right before the speech. She’ll need a similar outside-the-box campaign to pull off the upset. Other red-state Democrats, from Mark Pryor to Mary Landrieu, will be watching closely.” [National Journal]
—POLITICO, “Alison Lundergan Grimes challenges Mitch McConnell in Kentucky”: “… Grimes had long been seen by Kentucky insiders as unlikely to run, given her cautious nature and the fact she appeared to be angling for a statewide bid, whether it was attorney general or the governor’s mansion in 2015. If she runs and loses against McConnell, it could hurt a future bid for higher office — even one against Sen. Rand Paul in 2016, when the Kentucky Republican may opt for a White House bid.” [POLITICO]
—AL MAYO: “Can Grimes Win? Yes – BUT!” – KPB column: “… She’s by far the strongest candidate they have available, so it’s the best possible news for Democrats, but Grimes has her work cut out for her. She was flanked by family, friends and a few high-powered Kentucky Democrats. … Grimes needs to be mega-prepared for MAJOR adversity in this campaign. … What to expect from this race? Look for nastiness. Pure and simple. … What I cannot stress enough is that Grimes can’t sit back, and wait for McConnell to make a mistake. It’s. Not. Going. To. Happen.” [KPB column]
—“Yarmuth: Grimes can raise the money and provide the contrast to defeat McConnell” [CN|2]
—The Guardian, “Mitch McConnell’s challenger Grimes has her work cut out in Kentucky” [Guardian]
—John Y. Brown, III: “Courage in the Arena” [The RP]
Click here to get all of the latest on McConnell/Grimes delivered free to your email box every weekday morning.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET There is always the possibility of a tomorrow to do what is called for today
And the past is part of the present, too, but never the most important part.
So today I will live. But not too narrowly. I don’t want to miss important signs trying to guide me.
A good day for me includes working hard, living intensely, standing still, and retreating more than once into play.
A good day includes busyness and routine but also just enough down time to tempt trouble but resisting it joyfully.
 Laughing is essential. Sadness may be too. Sharing always is necessary, personally and materially.
Take enough for yourself but give back just a little bit more, unless you don’t have it to give. Then take more for today
Be somebody’s hero and somebody else’s servant.
And do both well. Without acknowledging you are doing either.
Be grateful for what you have; grateful for what you have had taken away; and most of all grateful for what is still left, today.
Today is enough. And not too much.
We are, at the end of it all, painting by numbers. But don’t stress out over getting the numbers right. That’s not the point -although we always forget that.
The main thing is the colors that each of us chose for the picture of our lives that we paint a little bit of each day. And today’s little piece of the bigger picture is more important than we think …but is, ironically, most important with how it fits into the bigger picture of our lives–which we can’t see.
Think generally; act specifically; and play with all the pieces. Each piece has a place to fit that fills out the richest details of our life’s big picture and without the little something is missing .
And even though we can’t see the big picture we are painting, it is the only important job we have to do each day. And can only be painted by us today–using old colors we know and new colors we invent.
By RP Nation, on Tue Jul 2, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET  We’ve already talked about how influential Social Media and related platforms such as Twitter are in helping change the political landscape (check out our contribution to the Recovering Politician’s 12 Step Program to Survive Crisis).
However, while following our favorite “recovering” politician, Jonathan Miller (a.k.a. Johnny Poker) during this past weekend’s World Series of Poker tournament, we recognized a new reality of the pervasive influence of Social Media. It has officially permeated the world of professional poker as well!
Where else besides social media could one directly ask all of their family, friends, followers, and fans to help strategize on what outfit they should don at the table (Good call on the Maccabee jersey, Jonathan)? How else would poker fans not only know who is playing at Phil Hellmuth’s table, but also get a picture of such to boot? Where else could you hear about which tournaments poker legend Doyle Brunson is contemplating entering? Yes, that’s right. Even Texas Dolly, well into his 70’s, is active on Social Media and Tweeting with his fans and the poker community.
Social Media provides any interested party an instant inside look at the personalities, battles, and tough breaks this rare group of individuals contend with each time they saddle up to the table. Now all can witness first-hand, and in real time, what the players themselves think, see, and feel while in the heat of competition. The conversation doesn’t stop there. Take the recent social media beef between Gus Hansen and Daniel Negreanu. “The Great Dane” took to Twitter to not only remind Negreanu of the $300M he won from him in a recent tourney, but provided a link to a YouTube clip of it as well. Negreanu responded in kind by issuing a battleship style challenge to Hansen in which he asked his fans to Tweet him names of players they think he should select to play on his team. So fans are not only able to see and hear what the pros are thinking and doing, they can directly engage and interact with them as well! This type of access is priceless and extremely valuable to a “sport” which isn’t blessed with the saturating media coverage enjoyed by other professional leagues.
Now a beginner player can get a tip directly from a pro on how to improve their game, all while watching them use those same skills against elite competition during the biggest poker event in the world! Intimately sharing the joy and pain they experience while playing this crazy game gives us virtual front row seats to the annual Vegas spectacle. We here at Socialfly are on the edge of ours!
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Dear Jonathan,
