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Cory Booker Speaks Out On Lautenberg's Retirement

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Having averted a potentially nasty primary fight, the Newark Mayor says in a statement to BuzzFeed that Lautenberg “has been a champion for the people of New Jersey.” “On a personal note…”

Cory Booker

Image by Brad Barket / Getty Images

In response to Senator Frank Lautenberg's retirement, announced Thursday afternoon, Mayor Cory Booker praised New Jersey's senior senator "on a personal note" for setting a "strong model of leadership."

"Senator Frank Lautenberg has been a champion for the people of New Jersey for decades and his legacy of service will improve the lives of all American's for years to come," said Mayor Booker in a statement to BuzzFeed.

"Here in Newark, his tireless advocacy and numerous contributions have helped our city endure difficult days and are now fueling our turn toward growth, promise and endless possibility," Booker said. "Newarkers know, from our airport and the roads we drive on to our schools and services for our seniors, Frank Lautenberg has helped empower people and strengthen our city.

The Senator and Mayor have been embroiled in a cold war ever since Booker announced in December that he would "consider" a run in 2014 for the New Jersey U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by the 89-year-old Lautenberg.

But just an hour after the Senator went public with his retirement — which he will formally announced Friday in Lautenberg's hometown, Paterson, N.J. — Booker expressed his "personal" gratitude to his elder colleague.

"On a personal note, Senator Lautenberg has been a strong model of leadership and service to me since before I even considered entering elected office," said Booker. "Since I have been mayor, he has been an invaluable partner in so many of Newark's recent accomplishments and successes. I look forward to continuing to work with him for the remainder of his term in the senate and for many years to come."


New NRA Ad Predicts Dystopian Future Without High-Capicity Magazines

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The NRA's new ad says regular Americans won't be able to protect themselves without high-capacity magazines.

Source: youtube.com

New York Congressman: Mandatory FEMA Cuts "Would Be A Disaster" For Sandy Victims

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“And it seems to me it's just on cruise control right now, no one's doing anything to stop it,” Rep. Peter King says.

Image by J. Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON — A New York Congressman warned Thursday that a $1 billion cut to Sandy relief funding would be "a disaster" if it is allowed to happen as part of broad mandatory spending cuts set to take effect.

"I think it would be a disaster if it were to go into effect," New York Rep. Peter King, a Republican, said.

He added with a laugh, "Republicans are unpopular enough in New York without this happening."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that the mandatory spending cuts set to take effect March 1, known as the "sequester," would likely splice more than $1 billion from its disaster relief fund. The fund has supplied money to a range of Sandy recovery efforts.

Although Congress recently approved an extra $61 billion in relief funding for states impacted by Sandy, King said any additional cuts would have a tangible, adverse effect.

"You're talking about taking a lot of money out," King said. Every dollar counts. People think the $61 billion was a lot, but even that was not all that we needed. In the real world, you take what you get, but to lose — I don't know how much it's going to be, we're still trying to compute it, but it'll have a real impact. These are real people with real suffering going on."

The sequester has been disowned and opposed by lawmakers of both parties, but the sentiment beginning to pervade the Hill is that replacement legislation won't be approved in time to prevent it.

"To me, it's a crazy way to do business," King said. "And it seems to me it's just on cruise control right now, no one's doing anything to stop it."

Frank Lautenberg Retires To Avoid The "Silly Season"

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A decision, made in the last 24 hours, to protect his legacy. The Senator is “very upbeat” about finishing his fifth and last term, says a source.

Image by Getty Images

Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey's 89-year-old U.S. Senator, announced Thursday afternoon that he would not seek re-election in 2014 — a decision he made only in the last 24 hours and intended to preserve his legacy, a Democratic source close to him told BuzzFeed.

"There's been conversation going about this for quite a while, but he got closer this week to making that decision. There wasn't one thing that prompted it" said the Lautenberg source. "In the last 24 hours, he just reached that point. Things started rolling in motion this morning."

When the Senator announced his plans to staff and confidantes Thursday morning, the message was "very upbeat," said the New Jersey Democrat. "It wasn't filled with nostalgia. It was all about the future, and the next two years. He is committed to putting the same intensity and vigor into the rest of his term as he's had his entire career."

Within minutes of Lautenberg's public announcement, reported first by the Star-Ledger, the Senator's colleagues in the state — including New Jersey Democratic Chairman John Wisniewski and Congressman Frank Pallone — were ready with their own statements for the press.

Lautenberg will formalize his decision to retiree at an event Friday in his hometown, Paterson N.J., where the tenor of the occasion will focus on "the Senator's accomplishments, not the politics," said the source, referring to hyped-up media attention surrounding Lautenberg and Newark mayor Cory Booker, who announced in December that he'd "consider" a run in 2014 for the senior Senator's seat.

A potential Lautenberg-Booker primary was attracting a level of scrutiny from the press that could distracted from the legacy the Senator very much wants to preserve as he concludes his fifth term.

"Once he reached that personal decision, this was a good time to do it," said the Lautenberg confidante. "It allows him to focus on the term and full two years in front of him without the distraction of the silly season."

In tandem with the retirement announcement, Lautenberg's office released an extensive 13-page document titled, "A Record of Accomplishment."

"It's important to make sure that story is out there, and that that story gets told. He really is a true American story," said the source, pointing to Lautenberg's service in World War II — he will be the last sitting World War II veteran in the U.S. Senate — and to what the document calls his "historic five-term Senate career."

Lautenberg spent Thursday afternoon in his Washington, D.C., office, making phone calls to "colleagues in the Senate and people across the board," said the source. "He's taking a lot of phone calls and getting a lot of phone calls."

With regards to the timing of the announcement, the Lautenberg confidante said only, "There's not that much to it. People will try to draw theories. What is clear that he was going to do things on his own terms, when and how he wanted to. That's what this displays. He decided that now was the time he wanted to do it, and so he did it."

Asked if Lautenberg would support Mayor Booker in his run the Senate seat, the source noted that the race is still more than a year away. "I think there's a long way to go before that decision is made. There's a governor's race first, so there wouldn't be any reason for anyone to be making any endorsement," the Lautenberg source said.

Pallone, who has served New Jersey in Congress for 20 years, has long expressed interest in succeeding Lautenberg, but only when and if the Senator decided to retire, showing a particular deference to his colleague that Booker never did. (Without Lautenberg in the field, though, the Congressman faces an uphill battle against Booker. Recent polling by the liberal group, PowerPac, has Pallone with 8 percent of the vote, compared to Booker's 48 percent.)

"When the dust settles," the source added, Lautenberg will give his endorsement.

The Most Romantic Story In Congress

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Love triumphs over oceans, war and politics.

This is Congressman Sam Johnson from Texas.

This is Congressman Sam Johnson from Texas.

Image by Stephen Jaffe / Getty Images

While in ROTC at Southern Methodist University, he married his high school sweetheart. His ROTC class was called up to serve in Korea upon graduation.

While in ROTC at Southern Methodist University, he married his high school sweetheart. His ROTC class was called up to serve in Korea upon graduation.

Via: adclassix.com

Johnson flew 87 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Johnson flew 87 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Johnson's F-4 Phantom II was shot down during Vietnam.

Johnson's F-4 Phantom II was shot down during Vietnam.

Via: en.wikipedia.org


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John McCain: People Haven't Forgotten What Hagel Said About George Bush

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He says Senate Democrats will probably get the votes for Hagel, but mentions that Senate Republicans haven't forgotten him criticizing Bush.

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Paul Ryan's Budget May Count Cuts From "Obamaquester"

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House GOP leaders want Obama to own the automatic cuts to spending known as the sequester, but their budget chief is expected to count the cuts toward his 10 year plan.

Image by Handout / Reuters

WASHINGTON — House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's upcoming budget is expected to include savings from looming military and discretionary spending cuts worth $85 billion — the same package of cuts that Republicans have desperate tried to hang around President Barack Obama's neck.

According to two senior GOP aides familiar with Ryan's thinking on the budget, the Wisconsin Republican and former vice presidential candidate will use the so-called sequester as part of the baseline level of spending for his budget.

Doing so will likely make it significantly easier for him to craft a plan that balances the budget in 10 years, a time frame conservatives within the conference have demanded.

The sequester's cuts, which will impact everything from disaster spending to military preparedness, are in current law, so using them in the budget is not in and of itself a controversial decision.

But leadership has gone to great pains to try and put the blame for the deep spending cuts on Obama — including coining various twitter hashtags and calling it the "Obama sequester" in every press release or public speech they give.

So claiming credit for the reductions in spending included in the sequester — which Republicans will do assuming they pass the budget later this year — could be problematic, at least from a messaging stand point.

During the election, Ryan and Mitt Romney hammered Obama over millions of cuts in Medicare spending included in Obamacare, even though Ryan included them in his own budgets because they were law. Those attacks drew the ire of Democrats who accused Ryan of hypocrisy.

A spokesman for Ryan declined to comment on the budget since Ryan has not yet proposed it. However, the spokesman did note that his last budget plan "replaced the sequester with common sense cuts and reforms that protect defense and key domestic priorities. In fact, over 10 years, we achieve greater savings than the sequester."

Obama To GOP: Stop Playing Politics In Wartime

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During Google+ chat, Obama castigates Republican filibuster of Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel. “It's just unfortunate.”

Image by J. Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama bemoaned the decision by Senate Republicans to filibuster his nominee for Secretary of Defense, Sen. Chuck Hagel, saying they were playing politics in wartime.

"It's just unfortunate that this kind of politics intrudes at a time when I'm still presiding over a war," he said during a "fireside hangout" on Google+, adding that it was "unprecedented."

"For the sake of national security, it's time to stop playing politics with our Department of Defense, and to move beyond the distractions and delay," added White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in a statement.

Republican lawmakers blocked the nomination from proceeding Thursday evening citing his previous comments about Israel as well as lingering questions over the Benghazi attack. The White House released more information about the attack to Republican lawmakers before the vote.

"Congress is sort of running out of things to ask," Obama said about his administration's response to last year's attack which killed four Americans.

Obama also criticized Senate lawmakers for increasingly requiring a 60-vote filibuster-proof threshold to move anything through the chamber — including nominations.

"We don't have a 60 vote rule, yet that has become common practice," Obama said. "That's not the rule. The rule is that you're supposed to have a majority."

In 2006, Obama supported a filibuster of President George W. Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, now-Justice Samuel Alito.


Republicans, Democrats Put Aside Bickering For Valentine's Day Nosh

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It's another miracle under the belt for St. Valentine.

WASHINGTON — St. Valentine may have two new cherubs in his saintly service after a bipartisan Valentine's Day dinner on Capitol Hill, organized by Reps. Peter Roskam and Peter Welch.

But instead of cute, tiny bows and arrows, these two political matchmakers normally wield whips: Roskam is the Chief Deputy Whip for the Republicans, while Welch fills that role in the Democratic Conference.

And while the Peters spend most of their days using the lash to keep their members in line, at least on Thursday night they were using their powers of persuasion to try and build a little comity in the House.

A source familiar with the dinner said the duo held a similar dinner during the last Congress, and wanted to bring "a small group of Members together to have a meal and get to know the other side of the aisle a little better."

Welch, who hails from Vermont, brought the desert: Ben & Jerry's, of course.

John McCain Denies Delaying Hagel Nomination Over Letter Formatting

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Much ado over a CC? “Absolutely false,” McCain's spokesperson says.

Image by Win McNamee / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain's office denied Thursday that he used the formatting on a letter from the White House as an excuse to delay a vote on Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense.

"That's absolutely false," McCain's spokesperson Brian Rogers said of the charge, which Democrats had been quietly making on Capitol Hill Thursday.

McCain and Sens. Lindsay Graham and Kelly Ayotte wrote a letter to the White House on Tuesday demanding further information about the September attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, and warned that they would hold a vote on Hagel's nomination pending a response. The White House responded Wednesday — but addressed the letter to Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services Committee, and merely CC'ed McCain, Graham and Ayotte.

The White House resent the letter — nearly identical to the first, but for the inverted subject and CC lines — Thursday.


A Senate Democratic aide provided copies of the letters to BuzzFeed. "That is the level of unseriousness we are dealing with here," the aide said.

On the Senate floor earlier Thursday, Reid hinted at the drama.

"Several of my Republican colleagues sent a letter to the administration yesterday requesting additional information on the Sept. 11 attack on an American facility in Benghazi," Reid said. "These Republican colleagues said they would not allow a vote on Sen. Hagel's nomination to proceed unless the administration honored their request. The administration responded to that letter yesterday. I, along with several of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, received a copy of the letter at 4 p.m. But now Republicans say this is not enough and are moving the goal posts at the last minute. This is no way to operate."

Meanwhile, McCain insisted he had been kept out of the loop.

"I have not received the letter," McCain told CNN Thursday morning. "They sent the letter to Sen. Levin. It was Sen Graham and I and Ayotte that asked for an answer. We haven't received an answer."

In the interview, he said the letter's delay was a chief reason he was holding up a vote on Hagel's nomination.

"I have to receive a letter, I have to receive a letter, see whether I receive a letter or not, and there are other questions that other senators have raised which are not answered as well," McCain told CNN.

Ultimately, Senate Democrats did not round up enough votes Thursday to break a filibuster on Hagel's nomination. A vote will occur after the Senate returns from its recess, when he is expected to be confirmed.

Relevant excerpts from both letters below:

Uh oh:

Uh oh:


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Associated Press Holds Firm On 'Generally' Not Calling Married Gays Husbands Or Wives

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“This week's style guidance reaffirmed AP's existing practice,” a spokesman says. Reporters, related organizations and activists aren't satisfied.

Image by Robert F. Bukaty / AP

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press is holding firm against criticism — some of it internal — of a Feb. 11 guidance issued to its reporters and editors that they were to "[g]enerally ... [use] couples or partners to describe people in civil unions or same-sex marriages."

AP spokesman Paul Colford told BuzzFeed Thursday evening, "This week's style guidance reaffirmed AP's existing practice. We've used husband and wife in the past for same-sex married couples and have made clear that reporters can continue to do so going forward."

When covering same-sex couples who have waited decades in some cases for that marriage license, however, the idea that the AP would treat those couples' marriages like civil unions — and not like opposite-sex couples' marriages — has sparked questioning responses from some of AP's own reporters and calls for a change from LGBT organizations and activists.

An initial memo, sent by AP Standards' Tom Kent and Dave Minthorn on Feb. 11, stated that same-sex couples could be referred to as husbands or wives only "with attribution." Jim Romenesko, who posted the memo on Feb. 12, later provided an update from Colford in which the spokesman clarified that "such terms may be used in AP content if those involved have regularly used those terms ('Smith is survived by his husband, John Jones') or in quotes attributed to them."

Both versions of the guidance concluded with the line, "Generally AP uses couples or partners to describe people in civil unions or same-sex marriages."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and AmericaBlog's John Aravosis immediately criticized the guidance, with one of the AP's own reporters, Lisa Leff, tweeting out Aravosis' story that afternoon.

Via: @scoopscout

Although not completely "banned," the guidance states that the words "husband" and "wife" are not "generally" to be used to describe same-sex couples in legal marriages and they are only to be used when "regularly used" by "those involved" or when in quotes.

On Feb. 13, with the AP not changing course, others joined in the criticism. A second AP reporter, David Crary, wrote in an email to Rex Wockner, that Crary said could be made public:

The AP style guidance will have no effect on how I write about legally married same-sex couples. I will continue to depict them on equal terms, linguistically and otherwise, with heterosexual married couples, with no hesitation about using husband and wife in the cases where that's the appropriate term.

The Fake AP Stylebook Twitter account also joined the discussion, tweeting acerbically:


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Rep. Tom Price Is A "Big" Taylor Swift Fan

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The conservative Republican didn't understand her Conor Kennedy phase. “I prayed when she started dating a Kennedy that that would end.”

Image by J. Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON — Music superstar Taylor Swift has an unlikely fan in Republican Rep. Tom Price.

At a National Review breakfast Friday, Price enthusiastically noted his taste for country music — and, when pressed, named Swift as his favorite country artist.

"I'm a big Taylor Swift fan," Price said. He added with a laugh, "Don't tell anybody."

Price enjoys Swift's music more than her dating preferences, however: She recently dated Conor Kennedy, one of the noted Democratic clan.

"I prayed when she started dating a Kennedy that that would end," said Price, who is a prominent conservative voice in the House Republican caucus.

Update: Price has seen Swift in concert too:

Rep. Tom Price Is Fine With Karl Rove's New Super PAC

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Price, rumored to be weighing a run for Senate, could benefit from Rove's Conservative Victory Project playing in Senate primaries.

Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — If Karl Rove wants to pick winners in Senate primaries, Republican Rep. Tom Price doesn't have a problem with it.

Price, currently considering a run for an open Senate seat in Georgia, hopes Rove's new super PAC, the Conservative Victory project, will prevent general election meltdowns like those Republicans saw last year in states like Missouri and Indiana.

"Republicans ought to be in the majority in the Senate," Price said during a National Review breakfast Thursday. "We have lost seats we shouldn't have lost."

He added, "Clearly we can't continue the same processes we've had in the past."

Rove's new group has struck an early nerve among some conservative Republicans who fear being targeted for their far-right views. The New York Times reported earlier this month that the super PAC has its sights set already on Rep. Steve King in Iowa's emerging Senate primary field.

The group could prove to be a major boon if Price chooses to run for Senate, as Hill chatter suggests he might: in a primary, Price would face off against staunchly conservative Rep. Paul Broun, who has already announced he will run for Senate, and likely other as-of-yet undetermined candidates.

"I have some discomfort with Republican primaries, because they're all family squabbles," Price said.

Price has said he will not decide until this summer whether to seek the seat — but the hypothetical does entice him.

"To have the opportunity to affect positively the processes of the Senate and get things rolling would be a great privilege," he said.

Obama Returns To Chicago Against Backdrop Of Gun-Centered Election

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How an Illinois congressional race became ground zero for the national gun debate. Bloomberg is investing $1 million to beat NRA allies.

Image by Charles Dharapak / AP

When President Barack Obama returns to this hometown of Chicago Friday pushing his proposals to reduce gun violence, he will do so against the backdrop of a special Congressional election that has become ground zero for the national gun control debate — and one whose outcome will signal just how much politics have shifted in the post-Newtown era.

The race to fill Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat in the Illinois second Congressional district has already been defined by gun control, both because of Chicago's spiking violence rates — marked most recently by the murder of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton who performed at Obama's inauguration a week before she was shot — and because one of the top Democratic candidates has found herself on defense for her past alliance with the NRA.

Independence USA, the SuperPAC funded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg known for its gun control advocacy, began running attack ads against candidate Debbie Halvorson last month, and will begin targeting another candidate, Toi Hutchinson, for her past NRA "A" rating. The ad also advertises for Bloomberg's favored pro-gun control candidate, Robin Kelly.

In December, Bloomberg spent $3.3 million in ads and mailings to defeat NRA-ally former Rep. Joe Baca and prop up Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) in a California Congressional race.

Hutchinson, Halvorson and Kelly are the top three democratic candidates in a special election to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) More than a dozen candidates are battling for the democratic slot, which will be decided in a primary on February 26.

"You take the national conversation on guns and you magnify it quite a bit by being near Chicago which has been plagued by gun violence for so long," Chicago-area political consultant Sean Tenner said. "Then you've got urban and suburban constituents: It's natural it would be the big issue."

Halvorson has accused Bloomberg of "buying an election" with his attack ads.

"This is not about buying elections, this is about educating voters on an issue of crucial importance," Stefan Friedman, spokesman for Independence USA said.

Bloomberg has been outspoken in supporting politicians who favor restricting gun access. Friedman said he expects the PAC will continue to invest in campaigns that deal with gun control issues.

"We are taking this one race at a time," he said. "The mayor has been clear that he's going to have a voice on these issues. I can't predict the future or who's going to run where, but clearly the issue has been elevated to an issue of national importance."

Campaign managers for the two targeted candidates say attack ads — from Independence as well as PACs CREDO and Progressive Kick — will not move their candidates' stances on gun control—with one campaign saying the shootings in Newtown, Conn., had changed their candidates' views already.

The special election, scheduled for April 9, 2013, will be the first federal election since the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn.

Hutchinson has been clear that her gun views have changed, said Hutchinson's campaign manager Vladimir Gutman.

"Our strategy has always been to talk about Toi's record and the fact that she's moderated her opinion on gun control," Gutman said. "We're going to continue to let people know that's the case."

Hutchinson has changed her views on gun control since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., when she disagreed with the National Rifle Association's stance to arm teachers in schools.

That moment, not attack ads, moved Hutchinson's stance on gun control to the left, Gutman said.

Joshua Grossman, executive director of Progressive Kick, said it's that very policy shift that needs to be highlighted to voters.

"I think it's fascinating a test of how quick and fast a politician can lie to people," Grossman said. "Because Halvorson is sort of honest in her views but Hutchinson has just done an intense job of covering her tracks. With no sense of shame, she's flipped her views and is acting like the previous Toi Hutchinson doesn't exist."

For Halvorson, the ads are sensational and out of touch. One of her campaign managers, Sean Howard, said the campaign will continue to run on its top issue—job creation.

"There is a growing concern that this is way over-the-top and these outsiders are coming in to purchase an election," Howard said.

Halvorson, Hutchinson and former Cook County Administrator Robin Kelly are the top three Democratic candidates, with an an internal poll from the Kelly campaign showing Kelly in the lead (both Hutchinson and Halvorson's campaigns dismissed the poll.)

Source: youtube.com

Liberal Support For Chris Christie Frustrates Democrats

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Fundraisers in Beverly Hills and Silicon Valley, and a fan-base that includes Mark Zuckerberg. A “huge gulf” between Christie's popularity and record, says Henne.

Image by Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Chris Christie's well-publicized three-day campaign swing this week through the liberal heartland of California left Democrats back east exasperated, and even confused, by the Republican governor's popularity with the Hollywood and Silicon Valley crowds.

Christie's trip took him from Beverly Hills to La Jolla and Santa Barbara, and ended with a private event at the home of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

"When we he heard that Mark Zuckerberg would be holding his first-ever political fundraiser for Chris Christie, we were just shocked," said Becky Bond, political director for progressive group CREDO, who helped stage a 50-person protest outside the social media giant's Palo Alto home.

"He was making a very public statement by raising money for the guy who's well known for his conservative record," said Bond. "These are people who you'd think would not want to be associated with the war on women, and supporting Chris Christie is supporting that war on women."

Christie appeared two days earlier at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where about 30 to 40 Hollywood and entertainment attended the $3,800-a-ticket funder. Among the crowd, according to a report in the New York Post, was Disney Executive Gary Wilson, Richard "Skip" Bronson, and actress Sofía Vergara, who stars in the show, Modern Family, and has filmed a public service announcement for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

That a Republican governor who struck down a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood could get support from a figure like Zuckerberg — whose company was the first social media organization to receive a GLAAD award — is the latest frustration for Democrats who see Christie's state and national popularity as a mask for his conservative record.

"There's a huge gulf between the carefully constructed image Christie puts forth in manufactured YouTube videos and puff pieces with Piers Morgan or David Letterman where he talks about Springsteen and the Mets and Christie's real record in New Jersey" said Joshua Henne, a Democratic strategist who helped organize a "#UnfriendChristie" social media campaign, led by groups like the New Jersey Communications Workers of America, during the governor's trip through California.

Henne pointed to Christie's record on gay marriage — he rejected the state's bill, offering instead that marriage equality be put to a vote on the ballot — and to the bill he vetoed last month that would have raised the minimum wage in New Jersey by $1.25. (Christie argued that a scaled-back version of the bill would pose less of a threat to the state's recovering economy.)

"You may only know what Christie's last media appearances were," said Bond, who led the CREDO protestors in chants like, "Hey, Facebook, Shame on you. Christie hurts women and now you do, too."

"But that's our job as activists is to make sure donors know what they're signing up for by funding him," Bond added.

Since Hurricane Sandy tore through New Jersey last month, Christie has received 70-plus-percent approval ratings and high marks from both sides of the aisle — including from President Barack Obama — for his leadership during and after the storm. The governor, who has cultivated an image as a maverick, in contrast to intractable partisans in Washington D.C., broken with his party on a Sandy aid package during a dramatic press conference in which he shamed the leader of the GOP, Speaker of the House John Boehner, for placing "one-upmanship" ahead of storm victims.

It's Christie's independent streak, often played out on the national stage, that wins him goodwill from Democrats, even in the midst of his reelection. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll out this week indicates that a plurality of Democrats, 47 percent, will vote for Christie in the fall. In a head-to-head against Barbara Buono, the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Christie still wins, 42 to 38 percent.

But David Turner, a spokesman for Buono's campaign, countered that the "narrative of progressive support for Christie is a fallacy."

"For three years, Chris Christie has not just attacked the Democrats' core values, he has done so with gusto," said Turner. "New Jerseyans will vote on the issues that matter most to them and Governor Christie simply does not hold their beliefs."

A crowd of about 50 gather outside the Palo Alto home of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg Wednesday to protest the fundraiser for Republican governor Chris Christie.

Via: flickr.com


A Timeline Of John McCain's Positions On Chuck Hagel Positions

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To filibuster or not to filibuster.

Last Monday: McCain tells Politico "I do not believe we should filibuster."

Last Monday: McCain tells Politico "I do not believe we should filibuster."

via Politico

Image by Matthias Schrader / AP

Last Wednesday: McCain adds his name to a letter asking for more Hagel speeches and financial records, says to hold off the vote.

Last Wednesday: McCain adds his name to a letter asking for more Hagel speeches and financial records, says to hold off the vote.

via the Washington Post

Image by Matthias Schrader / AP

Sunday: McCain tells Fox News: "I do not believe we should filibuster his nomination."

Sunday: McCain tells Fox News: "I do not believe we should filibuster his nomination."

Source: foxnews.com

Monday: McCain said that a filibuster: “Sets a wrong precedent. Someday we will have a Republican president. Someday we may even have a majority in the United States Senate.”

Monday: McCain said that a filibuster: “Sets a wrong precedent. Someday we will have a Republican president. Someday we may even have a majority in the United States Senate.”

via Politico

Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images


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The 'No Labels' Group Really Needs To Work On Their Emails

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Would you open an email that had a subject line like, “orange”?

Can you resist any of these please from Mark McKinnon & Co.?

Can you resist any of these please from Mark McKinnon & Co.?

No Labels should really spend some time studying the master of the email subject line, Sen. Al Franken.

No Labels should really spend some time studying the master of the email subject line, Sen. Al Franken.

Obama Gets Emotional In Crime-Ridden Chicago, Calls For Greater Emphasis On Fatherhood

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In Chicago, Obama addresses gun violence, need for path out of poverty.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama delivered an emotional speech Friday in his hometown of Chicago, decrying gun violence and emphasizing the need for a whole-community approach to boost the economy and keep children safe.

Speaking at the Hyde Park Academy on the final stop of his post–State of the Union sales pitch, Obama addressed rampant gun violence in the city, where Hadiya Pendleton was shot earlier this month just a mile from his home — and a week after participating in the inaugural festivities in Washington.

"Last year there were over 443 murders with a firearm in this city, and 65 of them were 18 and under," he said. "That's the equivalent of a Newtown every four months."

"This is not just a gun issue but also an issue of the communities that we're building," Obama added, returning to his roots as a community organizer and decrying "the self-destructive impulses and the senseless violence."

Emphasizing the importance of fatherhood, Obama drew on his own experience being raised by a single mother and grandmother.

"I turned out OK," he said, "but at the same time I wish I had a father who was involved and around."

He added that the nation's child-support laws may need reform to help men find work and be more engaged in their children's lives.

"What makes you a man is not making a child but having the courage to raise one," Obama said.

Obama was in Chicago to advocate for his "ladders of opportunity" initiative to help Americans and their communities rise out of poverty and crime. Outlined in the State of the Union address, the program includes economic efforts such as raising the minimum wage, early-childhood education initiatives, passing gun control legislation, and spending programs targeted at blighted communities.

Before his remarks, Obama met with a group of at-risk men in an anti-violence group, who he said reminded him of himself when he was growing up in Hawaii.

"I had more of a safety net, but these guys are no different than me," Obama said. "I had problems too at your age. Difference was, when I screwed up, consequences weren't as harsh as they are on the South Side."

Ken Cuccinelli For President?

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The Republican candidate for governor in Virginia may have his eye on a bigger perch. KenCuccinelliForPresident.com has been registered by a consultant.

Ken Cuccinelli is the presumptive Republican nominee in the Virginia gubernatorial election, but the Attorney General already has a website, kencuccinelliforpresident.com, already set up for the race to the White House. Cuccinelli, a hold-out of the Tea Party movement, is the leading Republican candidate to face likely Democratic opponent, former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, later this fall.

The site, created two years ago, was registered by Lauren Patten, a then-administrator for American Target Advertising, a fundraising consultancy firm with ties to Cuccinelli since 2009, according to Virginia Public Access Project filings.

The website, registered under the domain name, KenCucinelliForPresident.com.

Via: kencuccinelliforpresident.com

The site was registered by a former staffer at a Cuccinelli fundraising consultant firm.

Via: networksolutions.com


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Gavin Newsom Wants To Turn Your City Into A Startup

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Can a government be run like a Silicon Valley tech company? An interview with Gavin Newsom.

Image by David Paul Morris / Getty Images

Like every politician, Gavin Newsom likes to talk about his plan to reinvent the government. But his plan looks more like a blueprint for a Silicon Valley tech firm than a sprawling government bureaucracy.

The California lieutenant governor's new book, Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government, offers a roadmap that's loaded with concepts like gamification, social networking, and open source platforms — which, he argues, are necessary to engage a generation of digital natives.

BuzzFeed spoke with Newsom about his plans.

BuzzFeed: Citizenville calls for governments to release open data so that private citizens can develop digital tools to improve the government. Is San Francisco's DataSF App Showcase — an app store for the city — an example of what you are proposing?

Newsom: Yes. That was so exciting. We put data sets online on a platform to have third party developer make apps. What would have cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and taken us months if not years to do, they did in days and weeks, for no money. We couldn't do that from a government perspective. It has taken off. There are government app stores across the country.

Why do you recommend governments ask private citizens for help instead of just hiring their own internal tech teams?

The biggest complaint I get from tech leaders is that they can't hire enough talent. The consequence is that they are very competitive with one another. Imagine, in that kind of environment, how difficult it is to make a case for a civil service position. That is by no means to suggest that there aren't outstanding leaders in government. It is just more of an exception.

What do you think of President Obama's digital efforts?

He raised the bar. What president did in his first day in office with open government. That executive order reads as so idealistic. It is just like Mark Zuckerberg's IPO letter, in terms of what can be. Obama did incredible things in the first few years with openness, data sets, and transparency. Unfortunately we didn't see follow through. The momentum waned. That is some of the frustration with the drone issue of secrecy and memos that were not made public and the lack congressional oversight. It is not an indictment, but I'm hoping we can resuscitate and revitalize it.

Is it possible to bring that back?

The revitalization is starting with cities. A lot of mayors took up the baton because of the external pressure. Organizations and groups educated us. People like Tim O'Reilly [the open source advocate] are saying we have to pick it up at the local level and people like [Code for America's] Jennifer Pahlka are placing talent in departments all across the country.

You open your book with the 2011 election in Los Angeles when only 12 percent of registered voters went to the polls. How can you expect digital tools change that level of citizen apathy?

It is not just e-government and online efficiency. It is a new distribution of decision making, collaboration, active participation, and citizen engagement. A whole generation of folks who have grown up as digital natives are also the generation of choice, the participation generation. Their expectations of service are different than digital immigrants like myself, who are used to a professor student model, the broadcast model. You have to be customized not standardized. Half a billion people are spending time on online games. The typical young person spends more time each year on online games than in the classroom. How can we harness that energy, not just for Angry Birds but for a Citizenville app for democracy?


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