Barney Frank: Ditch Bernie Sanders

"Decades ago, Sanders made a principled choice to play a valuable part in our politics — the outsider within the system. He defied the uniquely American aversion to the word 'socialism.' We are, after all, the only Western democracy in which no self-identified socialist party has ever played a significant governmental role. While voting with the Democrats to organize first the House and then the Senate, he made clear he did so as a regrettable necessity, not a preference, and cited his nonmembership in the party as an indication of his political integrity. Substantively, he has consistently, forcefully and cogently made the case for a larger federal government role in improving both the fairness and the quality of life in our country, refusing to soft-pedal in the face of declining support for this view in public opinion. His very unwillingness to be confined by existing voter attitudes, as part of a long-term strategy to change them, is both a very valuable contribution to the democratic dialogue and an obvious bar to winning support from the majority of these very voters in the near term." - Barney Frank, in a lengthy Politico piece titled Why Progressives Shouldn't Support Bernie Sanders.

Headline Of The Day

Great piece on Politico. An excerpt:

Negative national headlines on religious freedom continue to fuel a negative image of the entire party. Both in my private conversations with and in public (and private) polling, conservatives are moving ever closer to supporting full equity for LGBT Americans. Gallup’s Values and Beliefs poll released last month showed a more than 20 percentage-point increase since 2001 in Americans (63 percent) who believe “gay and lesbian relations” are “morally acceptable”. You don’t get to a supermajority like that without Republicans. Even Texas conservatives support protecting gay and transgender folks from employment discrimination.

Republicans, like the rest of Americans, support nondiscrimination laws because most of us have gay family members, friends and co-workers and want to treat them as we would want to be treated. And having heard from moms and dads who want this great country to treat their gay child just like their straight child has been a powerful narrative. It really is all about family standing up for one another. Most people believe equality under the law can and does work well alongside protecting religious freedom — which must be and is protected, even cherished, in our Constitution.

Hit the link. It's worth a full read.

Politico: Hillary Is Definitely In For 2016

Via Politico:

Hillary Clinton is in the final stages of planning a presidential campaign that will most likely be launched in early April and has made decisions on most top posts, according to numerous Democrats in close contact with the Clintons and their aides. Campaign advisers say the likelihood of a campaign, long at 98 percent (she never really hesitated, according to one person close to her), went to 100 percent right after Christmas, when Clinton approved a preliminary budget and several key hires. Most of the top slots have been decided, with one notable exception: communications director, a job that is now the subject of intense lobbying and jockeying among some of the biggest names in Democratic politics. One top contender is White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri, who is close to likely campaign chairman John Podesta.

According to the above-linked article, Clinton's formal announcement will come "after the end of this quarter." On the reported shortlist to be her running mate: Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Michael Bennet, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, and HUD Secretary Julian Castro.

Politico Poll: 52% Oppose Gay Marriage

According to a just published poll conducted by Politico, a thin majority of likely 2014 voters say they oppose same-sex marriage.

Clear generational divides exist on the hot-button social issues of gay marriage and marijuana legalization, a new POLITICO poll of voters who will decide the most competitive House and Senate races finds. That split is starkest on the question of same-sex marriage, which is supported by 48 percent of those surveyed overall. But that number skyrockets to 61 percent among people between the ages of 18-34. Slightly more than half of those between ages 35 and 49 support gay marriage; the figure drops to 48 percent among those aged 50-64 and tapers off to 35 percent among those 65 and older. Overall, 52 percent of those surveyed oppose gay marriage.

The Family Research Council is already tweeting their joy.

POLITICO: Mitt Romney Wanted Homocon Ken Mehlman To Lead His Campaign

In a lengthy piece titled How Mitt Romney Stumbled, which slams his campaign chief Stuart Stevens, yesterday Politico claimed that at one time Romney wanted former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman to have the job. Politico's brief mention of Mehlman:

POLITICO has learned when Romney was gearing up for his 2012 run, he made never-before-reported overtures to Ken Mehlman, the manager of Bush’s campaign, and Mike Murphy, a top strategist who remains close to Romney. Still, when Romney went for a leaner campaign with fewer consultants, Stevens was left standing. At Romney’s insistence, Stevens and his business partner, Russ Schriefer, went all in, closing the Stevens and Schriefer Group office in Washington and moving into a first-floor warren at Romney headquarters in Boston’s North End.

It's not clear if Romney's "overture" occurred before Mehlman came out in 2010. As you doubtlessly recall, Mehlman steered the 2004 Bush campaign to victory by championing anti-gay ballot measures in many states.

Politico Looks At The Swing States

Source.

New Politico/GWU Poll: Still Tied

The poll was conducted prior to the Ryan announcement, which usually provides a short-lived "excitement" bump for the non-incumbent. Details. Cross-tabs. Questions.

Politico Rips Romney's New Homocon

After the news broke that Mitt Romney had hired homocon flack Richard Grenell to be his foreign policy spokesman, Politico dug into his Twitter history and revealed a history of viciously mocking Newt and Callista Gingrich.

Since the start of the year, Grenell has mocked the Gingriches over Newt’s extramarital affairs, Callista’s appearance and her demeanor on the campaign trail. Most recently, he cracked on March 13: “do you think callista’s hair snaps on?” On March 6, as the Super Tuesday returns rolled in, he tweeted: “Calista stands there like she is wife #1” On January 26, he asked: “does callista speak?” His tweets on the Gingrich marriage(s) go back at least to January, when he tweeted during a Jan. 26 debate: “let’s have Newt rate all his wives….” And later in the same debate: “Newt: My 1st Lady knows what it’s like to be 2nd and 3rd….” And then later: “Newt compliments all the wives proving he can’t pick just one 1st lady.” At the debate before that, ahead of the Florida primary on Jan. 23, Grenell cracked: “newt will win this question because he had 3 families!” On the previous day, he wondered: “what’s higher? The number of jobs newt’s created or the number of wives he’s had?”

It should be noted that live-tweeting cracks about Mrs. Number Three's robotic appearance were a favorite debate pastime of my own too, but then I'm not working for the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. On his very first day on the job, homocon Grenell has had to issue apologies for hating on the ladies of the GOP. Heh.

Ben Smith Jumps Politico For Buzzfeed

Continuing a mini-trend of well-known writers leaving purely political sites for those with a more broad focus, top Politico contributor Ben Smith is leaving for Buzzfeed.

After nearly five years of blogging in this space, and seven years of writing a political blog every day, I have a bit of self-referential media news: I’ll be moving on at the end of this month. I’ve taken an exciting job as the editor of BuzzFeed, where I’ll be trying to help build the first true social news organization – that is, an outfit built on the understanding that readers increasingly get and share their news on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms.

Early this year Andrew Sullivan moved his blog from its Atlantic home to the Daily Beast. Last month Matt Yglesias jumped ship at Think Progress for Slate.

Politifacts' Lies Of The Year

Fact-checking site Politfacts has released their Biggest Political Lies Of 2010 list. Here's their readers' picks. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the liars are Republicans. Surprisingly, Crazy Eyes isn't the #1 GOP liar.

1. ObamaCare is a "government takeover" of health care. -- Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.; the Republican Party of Florida; Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch, R-Wis.; and others: 43.9 percent

2. "The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day." -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., 19.2 percent

3. "The stimulus has not created one private sector job." -- Gov.-elect Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others: 13.9 percent

4. "Ninety-four percent of small businesses will face higher taxes under the Democrats' plan." -- Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and others: 8.8 percent

5. The ethics report "exonerates me." -- Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., 6.7 percent

John McCain's claim that Phoenix, Arizona is "the #2 kidnapping capital of the world" came in at #9.

Sarah Palin Vs. Politico.com

Sarah Palin is NOT happy about unsourced reports that the GOP leadership is working behind the scenes to make sure she doesn't win the 2012 presidential nomination.

Influence Peddling Scandal Rocks Washington Post

The Washington Post has just canceled an event with lobbyists amid an explosive scandal that they'd been selling the lobbyists access to powerful politicians and their own reporters and editors. Politico has the story:

Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where, for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff." With the newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Weymouth and Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli both said they were not aware of the flier.

“This should never have happened,” Weymouth told Post media reporter Howard Kurtz. “The fliers got out and weren't vetted. They didn't represent at all what we were attempting to do. We're not going to do any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom." Brauchli told Kurtz he was "appalled" by the plan." It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase," Brauchli told Kurtz. The proposal "promises we would suspend our usual skeptical questioning because it appears to offer, in exchange for sponsorships, the good name of The Washington Post."

A lobbyist is rightfully chastising journalists for poor ethical practices. Bizarro world! Do we believe the WaPo's story that this just a case of a poorly written flier?