Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof



Watch Giffords in Gun Control Ad - Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) stars in an ad released Monday by the gun control group she launched with her husband, Mark Kelly, who also appears in the ad.
 
"We have a problem: where we shop, where we pray, where our children go to school," Giffords said in the Americans For Responsible Solutions ad. "But there are solutions we can agree on, even gun owners like us. Take it from me, Congress must act. Let's get this done."

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Bloomberg Super Pac Opposes Halvorson in Democratic Race to Fill Jackson Jr. Seat - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to politics and gun legislation.
 
His super PAC, Independence USA, is dropping more than $1 million in advertisement money against a Democratic candidate running in a special election to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Chicago.

The candidate, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and opposes proposals that call for a renewed ban on assault weapons similar to the one that expired in 2004. CNN.com has more here.
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Graham Continues Benghazi Questions - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday threatened to block the confirmations of President Obama’s nominees for secretary of defense and head of the Central Intelligence Agency if the administration does not provide more information about its response to the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.
 
“I don’t think we should allow [John] Brennan to go forward for the CIA directorship, [Chuck] Hagel to be confirmed as secretary of defense, until the White House gives us an accounting. Did the president ever pick up the phone and call anyone in the Libyan government to help these folks? What did the president do?” Graham said on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.”  The Fix has more here.

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State of The Union Preview - Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime-time address Tuesday night to issue another broad challenge at a Republican Party he regards as vulnerable and divided, Democrats close to Obama say.

Obama now hopes to use his post-election popularity to force new tax increases and fewer budget cuts on Republicans as part of any deal to avert a $1.2 trillion menu of automatic cuts increasingly likely to kick in on March 1.  Politico.com has more here.

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Menendez Provided Support to Donor - Senator Robert Menendez sought to discourage any plan by the United States government to donate port security equipment to the Dominican Republic, citing concern that the advanced screening gear might undermine efforts by a private company — run by a major campaign contributor and friend of his — to do the work. 

Mr. Menendez has broadly rejected any suggestion that his official actions have been driven by an effort to favor Dr. Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist who has repeatedly flown the senator on his private plane and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Democrats in the Senate as well as Mr. Menendez’s re-election campaign.  The NY Times has more here.

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