JEFF SWENSEN / GETTY IMAGES, FILE17 minutes
First Thoughts: Bill Clinton on the Road Again
Clinton’s remarkable staying power on the campaign trail…
Remember, it’s been 22 years since he won his first presidential race back in
1992… Rand Paul hits Bill Clinton -- again: “I don't think he represents
Kentucky values or Kentucky families in the sense that what he did in the
workplace”… McConnell so far in control of his GOP primary race… Why
entitlement reform isn’t going to happen for a long, long time… The
increasingly partisan governors… All eyes on Jan Brewer in Arizona… Obama to
speak on manufacturing at 3:05 pm ET… And RIP, Dr. Egon Spengler.
Clinton’s remarkable staying power on the campaign trail
When former President Bill Clinton campaigns for Democratic
Senate candidate Alison Grimes in Louisville, Ky., at 11:30 am ET, he’ll do so
as the single-most popular politician in the country right now (a 54%-26%
fav/unfav rating in the Sept. 2013 NBC/WSJ poll). He’ll also do so as someone
who’s experienced his fair share of political ups (1992, 1996, the 2012 Dem
convention) and downs (1994, impeachment, Hillary’s 2008 campaign). But perhaps
the most striking thing about Clinton on the campaign trail today -- and for
Democrats the rest of this year -- is his staying power on the campaign trail.
A whopping 22 years have passed since he won the presidency back in 1992, but
he’s still campaigning. To put that into perspective, it would be akin to JFK
(had he lived) campaigning for Democrats in 1982; Ronald Reagan stumping for
Republicans through 2002; and Obama campaigning for Democrats come 2030. Of course,
to have that staying power, you need to be young when first stepping on the
national stage (Clinton was 46 when first elected president), still popular
with your party, and you have to love the campaign trail. All three apply to
Clinton.
Rand Paul hits Bill Clinton -- again
“I don't think he represents Kentucky values or Kentucky
families in the sense that what he did in the workplace”: Sticking with the
political news out of Kentucky, our colleague Perry Bacon covered a Rand Paul
event on Monday at Simmons College, a historically black college in Louisville.
And Paul was again asked about his recent attacks on former President Bill
Clinton: "I've just been answering questions from the media. I didn't
really bring the situation up at all," Paul said. He continued,
"People have asked me about Bill Clinton and I've responded. Frankly, I
don't think he represents Kentucky values or Kentucky families in the sense
that what he did in the workplace, anybody you would talk to, they would fire
their president, they would fire any executive who did this to a young intern
in the workplace so I don't think that was acceptable and I don't think that
he's a great representative for Kentucky families or values."
Will Grimes be first female Ky. senator? MORNING JOE
On McConnell vs. Bevin
Alison Grimes is hoping to challenge Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell in November’s general election. But first, McConnell has to get
through his primary, and all indications are that he’s in control of the race.
The Hill: “In the seven months since [Matt] Bevin launched his campaign to
topple the Bluegrass titan, statewide observers say his underdog bid hasn’t
caught the traction he needs before the May primary. Bevin was already
struggling with fundraising and in the polls. McConnell’s maneuvers to allow a
debt-ceiling vote to proceed gave his opponents hope, but that golden
opportunity was quickly erased by mishandling of his response to the revelation
that Bevin signed a letter praising the 2008 Wall Street bailout. ‘It can now
be called underperforming,’ Al Cross, a veteran state political commentator and
professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky, said of Bevin’s bid.”
But remember, it’s unlikely that McConnell will break 60%, so this race isn’t a
slam dunk for him. The true challenge for McConnell – if he wins the GOP
primary – will be getting conservatives back into the fold for the general
election. One of the reasons why McConnell’s poll numbers are so low is that
some of his detractors are conservatives supporting Bevin. But after the
primary, McConnell also needs to make the general election about something
other than himself; he can’t afford to have the general become a referendum on
him.
Why entitlement reform isn’t going to happen for a long,
long time
Want to know why achieving entitlement reform -- even on an
incremental, bipartisan basis -- is so difficult in American politics? Because
the political parties are poised to pounce on ANY changes to Social Security or
Medicare. The latest example is this recent story from the FL-13 special
congressional election: “NRCC Hits Alex Sink on Social Security for Backing
Simpson-Bowles.” From the story: “‘Alex Sink supports a plan that raises the
retirement age for Social Security recipients, raises Social Security taxes and
cuts Medicare, all while making it harder for Pinellas seniors to keep their
doctors that they know and love,’ said Katie Prill, a spokeswoman for the
NRCC.” For political parties, it’s too tempting to exploit someone wanting to
raise the retirement age, raise taxes, or cut benefits. (Folks, it also
explains why politicians like President Obama or House Speaker John Boehner
never 100% backed Simpson-Bowles.) But that is the only way to truly achieve
bipartisan entitlement reform – something that we don’t believe will occur
anytime soon.
The increasingly partisan governors
As we wrote earlier, many of the nation’s governors have
lost their halo -- and find their popularity not too far removed from their
brethren in Congress. One of the reasons why: Some of them have become just as
partisan as the folks on Capitol Hill. Here’s MSNBC.com’s Benjy Sarlin on
yesterday’s partisan fireworks outside the White House: “Republican and
Democratic governors gathered on the White House lawn after meeting with
President Obama to celebrate their shared role as can-do state executives removed
from the partisan bickering in Congress. That is, until they started bickering
themselves… ‘The Obama economy is now the minimum wage economy,’ Jindal said,
accusing the president of ‘waving the white flag of surrender’ on job growth…
The diatribe prompted an outraged response from Connecticut Governor Dan
Malloy, a Democrat… ‘That’s the most insane statement I’ve ever heard,” Malloy
said of Jindal’s ‘white flag’ comment.” Since we’ve been covering politics,
there have been plenty examples of bipartisan governors -- Republican John
Engler of Michigan, Democrat Roy Romer of Colorado, Democrat Phil Bredesen of
Tennessee, even George W. Bush of Texas back in the ‘90s. Those days are long
gone…
All eyes on Jan Brewer in Arizona
A key reason why some of these governors have become more
partisan is because they’ve been pushed by their legislatures to pass
controversial legislation. Think Rick Snyder in Michigan, Pat McCrory in North
Carolina, John Hickenlooper in Colorado. And that brings us to the big political
story out of Arizona. As NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reported on “TODAY,” Arizona’s
GOP senators and business community are pressuring Republican Gov. Jan Brewer
to veto controversial legislation that could allow state businesses to
discriminate against gays and lesbians. Remember, Brewer signed into law
controversial anti-illegal-immigrant legislation back in 2010, when she was
facing a GOP primary. Now she MIGHT be term-limited and no longer have such a
consideration. But here’s why we stressed the word “might”: Brewer technically
hasn’t served two full terms (she succeeded Janet Napolitano in 2009), so she
might challenge for a third term. It will be interesting to see what Brewer
ultimately decides to do. Per NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard, the governor has until Saturday
morning to sign or veto the bill. And the smart money is that Brewer will issue
a veto. First Read will have more on this later today.
Businesses to Arizona governor: Veto anti-gay bill TODAY
Obama’s day
President Obama meets with House Speaker John Boehner today
at 11:30 am ET (it’s closed to the press). Then at 3:05 pm ET, he delivers
remarks from the White House on manufacturing innovation. Per the White House,
the president will “announce new steps in partnership with the private sector to
boost advanced manufacturing, strengthen our capabilities for defense, and
attract the types of high-quality jobs that a growing middle class requires.”
And in the evening, Obama will speak at two Organizing for Action events.
There’s also this news via Politico: The Obama administration is going to
announce today big changes to food labels, the first update in two decades.
RIP, Dr. Egon Spengler
And we end with this statement from President Obama on the
passing of a hero of your First Read authors – Harold Ramis. The full
statement: “Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of Harold
Ramis, one of America’s greatest satirists, and like so many other comedic
geniuses, a proud product of Chicago’s Second City. When we watched his movies
– from ‘Animal House’ and ‘Caddyshack’ to ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Groundhog Day’ –
we didn’t just laugh until it hurt. We questioned authority. We identified with
the outsider. We rooted for the underdog. And through it all, we never lost our
faith in happy endings. Our thoughts and prayers are with Harold’s wife, Erica,
his children and grandchildren, and all those who loved him, who quote his work
with abandon, and who hope that he received total consciousness.”
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