By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Mar 22, 2013 at 8:12 AM ET
Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), for all the news on the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell.
As Ashley Judd considers making an historic bid for the U.S. Senate against Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, GOP forces — abetted by a handful of Democrats — have been spreading piles of disinformation about the race.
In separate stories, ABC News and CBS News have helped clear through the fog of spin.
ABC reveals this morning that the widely reported tale that former President Bill Clinton was actively opposing an Ashley Judd candidacy is, in fact, a fabricated myth:
ABC News has learned that Clinton encouraged Judd to enter the race and promised he would help her, according to several Kentucky political sources. That conversation happened sometime between the November election and President Barack Obama’s second inauguration…
The Clintons are longtime friends and allies of Grimes’s father, Jerry Lundergan, a former state party chairman, and Grimes herself who became secretary of state in 2011 after beating her primary challenger who was backed by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. Allies of hers say she is considering this race, but has not made a decision. Jerry Lundergan was a strong supporter of Bill Clinton, but also of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2008, and they remain close.
However, the Clintons are also close to Judd, who publicly backed Hillary Clinton over then Senator Obama in 2008 and even campaigned with Bill Clinton on behalf of Hillary in March 2008. Just days before the Texas primary, Clinton and Judd campaigned together standing in the back of a pickup truck at a private airport hangar in Abilene, Texas. She entertained the crowd, while Clinton was hours late due to a lightning storm…
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) is Judd’s most vocal proponent in the state and in an interview said Grimes would also “be a strong opponent against Mitch McConnell,” but “nobody brings to the table the unique assets that Ashley Judd does.”
“There are a lot of Democrats right now who are expressing some concern about her candidacy and what I would say to them is, We’ve tried five conventional campaigns in a row against Mitch McConnell and been unsuccessful,” Yarmuth said, adding that he called Grimes, but she had not called him back yet.
Meanwhile CBS This Morning ran this following clarifying piece on the race:
Be sure to subscribe to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), for all the news on the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 5:00 PM ET
Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets
Time is running out to sign up for “No Bracket, No Pay II” — The Recovering Politician’s second annual contest for college hoops forecasting mastery.
We are offering 2 spectaculat prizes to the winning entry:
1. A No Labels “Make the Presidency Work” book, signed by former Clinton and Obama Chief of Staff William Daley and former Bush II Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.
2. A copy of John Y. Brown, III’s new book, “Musings from the Middle,” autographed by the author!
You can be assured that NO OTHER NCAA BRACKETS CONTEST is offering those 2 prizes.
To read up on the the latest of the “No Budget, No Pay” proposal by No Labels, and how it applies to the presidency, please click here.
And most importantly, click here to sign up for No Bracket, No Pay II, and fill out your brackets today!
The field is set for this year’s NCAA Tournament, but rather than break down the brackets like everyone else, Extra Mustard is ranking the 68 schools in this year’s field by coolest alumnus (or alumna).
68. Florida Gulf Coast: Don Carman
After 10 years in the majors, the lefty hurler went back to school in Fort Myers, Fla., and earned a degree in sports psychology.
tumblr.com…
45. Oklahoma: Olivia Munn
The Newsroom star graduated from the Norman, Okla., school in 2004 with a degree in journalism.
7. Harvard: Norman Mailer
The novelist, journalist, essayist and Muhammad Ali confidant enrolled in Harvard at 16 years old, graduating in 1943 before joining the U.S. Army.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 9:15 AM ET
It’s been nearly two years since I apologized for hiding my support for marriage equality. GOP Senator Rob Portman and Secretary Hillary Clinton joined the bandwagon in the past few days. Turns out a big majority — 58% of Americans — agree with us. That includes a whopping 81% of young adults.
Public support for gay marriage has hit a new high as Americans increasingly see homosexuality not as a choice but as a way some people are, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The poll shows that 58 percent of Americans now believe it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married; 36 percent say it should be illegal. Public attitudes toward gay marriage are a mirror image of what they were a decade ago: in 2003, 37 percent favored gay nuptials, and 55 percent opposed them.
The Supreme Court takes up the issue of gay marriage next week, and nearly two-thirds of all Americans say the matter should be decided for all states on the basis of the U.S. Constitution, not with each state making its own laws.
Among young adults age 18 to 29, support for gay marriage is overwhelming, hitting a record high of 81 percent in the new poll. Support has also been increasing among older adults, but those aged 65 years old and up remain opposed, on balance: 44 percent say same-sex marriage should be legal; 50 percent say illegal.
A slim majority of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents under 50 years old now support gay marriage. Nearly seven in 10 of those aged 65 and up oppose it, although that is down from more than eight in 10 just four years ago.
There has been a related movement in public opinion about homosexuality. Fully 62 percent of Americans now say being gay is just the way some people are, not something people choose to be. About 20 years ago, fewer than half of the public said so.
In the current data, about three-quarters of those who do not see homosexuality as a choice support gay marriage, with most supporting it “strongly.” More than two-thirds of those who see it as a choice oppose gay marriage, with almost all intensely against it.
Currently, gay marriage is legal in only nine states and the District of Columbia, but public views are more similar than not across state lines. In the states that allow gay marriage, 68 percent say such same-sex marriages should be legal, but so too do 56 percent of those in states where the practice is not legal.
Intensity on the matter is, however, different in those states. In places where gay marriage is legal, 52 percent feel strongly that it should be. That falls to 39 percent feeling strongly that it should be legal in states where it currently is not.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted March 7 to 10, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. The margin of sampling error for the full survey is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Click here for interactive poll results and complete question wording. Complete trends over time are available here.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET
Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets
Already a few dozen people across the country have signed up for “No Bracket, No Pay II” — The Recovering Politician’s second annual contest for college hoops forecasting mastery. It was enough for them to try to match hoops forecasting some recovering politicians.
But some of you wanted added incentives. So we are offering at least 2 exciting prizes to the winning entry:
1. A No Labels “Make the Presidency Work” book, signed by former Clinton and Obama Chief of Staff William Daley and former Bush II Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.
2. A copy of John Y. Brown, III’s new book, “Musings from the Middle,” autographed by the author!
You can be assured that NO OTHER NCAA BRACKETS CONTEST is offering those 2 prizes.
To read up on the the latest of the “No Budget, No Pay” proposal by No Labels, and how it applies to the presidency, please click here.
And most importantly, click here to sign up for No Bracket, No Pay II, and fill out your brackets today!
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
Two of my fellow co-founders of No Labels — former Comptroller General Dave Walker and former Clinton Administration policy expert Bill Galston — discussed the future of No Labels’ hallmark legislative proposal, No Budget No Pay, in today’s The Hill. Here’s an excerpt:
Although most citizens may find it hard to believe these days, there is actually a law that establishes not only the process for producing a federal budget but also a timetable. First passed in 1974, the Congressional Budget Act tried to ensure that the different parts of the government would know what they could spend during the coming fiscal year—and would enjoy that certainty early enough to be able to make plans to spend the taxpayer’s money as efficiently and effectively as possible.
That’s the theory, but in practice it hasn’t worked out that way. In fact, the government has not passed all its budget and spending bills on time since 1997.
Late budgets have real and serious consequences. In the absence of timely spending bills, Congress passes “continuing resolutions,” which are short-term band-aid measures to keep the government running. This stop-and-go budgeting creates havoc for government agencies and the citizens who rely on them. It’s hard for federal agencies to plan and make commitments for the long term when they’re worried they might run out of money in three months.
This is no way to run the largest organization in the world – one that spent $3.8 trillion last year.
The dysfunctional budget process also contributes to the general climate of uncertainty that many economists believe restrains businesses from making new investments and hiring additional workers.
That’s why both of us were so thrilled when No Labels’ No Budget, No Pay proposal was included in this February’s debt ceiling extension bill. No Budget, No Pay is as simple as it sounds: If Congress can’t pass a budget on time, members aren’t paid.
No Budget, No Pay provided sorely needed accountability for our legislators. And it worked. Last week saw the delivery of budgets from Democrats in the Senate and Republicans in the House.
But there’s still a missing piece of the budget puzzle. The president is required by law to submit his budget proposal by the first Monday in February, but President Obama’s budget is late. In fact, this is the first time in history that Congress has released its budgets before the president. And if President Obama releases his budget on April 8, as recent reports suggest, it would be the latest budget presented by a president not in his first year of office since 1921, when record-keeping began.
That’s why we believe it’s time to expand No Budget, No Pay to the executive branch.
If the president doesn’t submit his budget by the first Monday of February – as the law requires – he or she should not be paid until the budget is released and transmitted to Congress.
Although No Budget, No Pay could only apply to future presidents (the Constitution prevents current presidents’ salaries from being increased or decreased), President Obama would take a big step toward more accountability in our government if he agreed to apply No Budget, No Pay to the executive branch.
Congress took its medicine with the No Budget, No Pay Act earlier this year. Now it’s time to hold the presidency to the same standard.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 12:30 PM ET
Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets
Time is running out to sign up for “No Bracket, No Pay II” — The Recovering Politician’s second annual contest for college hoops forecasting mastery.
Last year was a spectacular success — not only did 75 people compete, but my favorite team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, won the national championship. Better yet, several months later, “No Budget, No Pay” — the hallmark policy proposal of our co-sponsor, No Labels — passed through Congress and became law. All because of our hoops competition! (OK, maybe the cause and effect was a little tenuous.)
Anyway, you are invited to join us in No Bracket, No Pay II. Simply click here to signup, and fill out your brackets today!
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 2:22 PM ET
Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets
We are back at it for year two of “No Bracket, No Pay” — The Recovering Politician’s contest for college hoops forecasting mastery.
Last year was a spectacular success — not only did 75 people compete, but my favorite team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, won the national championship. Better yet, several months later, “No Budget, No Pay” — the hallmark policy proposal of our co-sponsor, No Labels — passed through Congress and became law. All because of our hoops competition! (OK, maybe the cause and effect was a little tenuous.)
Anyway, you are invited to join us in No Bracket, No Pay II. Simply click here to signup, and fill our your brackets before Tuesday.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Mar 15, 2013 at 9:15 AM ET
From CBS News:
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a co-sponsor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), now supports same-sex marriage, he announced last night.
In an op-ed this morning for the Columbus Dispatch, Portman explained that “I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married.”
Portman told The Cincinnati Enquirer his evolution on the subject began in 2011 when his son, Will, then a freshman at Yale University, told his parents he was gay.
“My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember,” Portman told CNN in an interview.
I’ve long been an admirer of the Senator, and even as early as March 2012, I recommended that Romney choose him as his Vice Presidential running mate. But this seals the deal — a extraordinarily brave move for a rising star in a party where activists overwhelmingly oppose gay marriage. I hate to use the cliche, but this really is a game changer.
