Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Mayors Against Illegal Guns To Grade Lawmakers - Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the nonprofit group financed by Bloomberg (I), will unveil a scoring system Tuesday to award lawmakers grades of A through F, much like the National Rifle Association, which has derived much of its power by deploying letter rankings against politicians at election time. The group’s strategists briefed The Washington Post on the plans ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.

“For decades, the NRA has done an admirable job of tracking to minute detail how members of Congress stand on gun bills. We’ve simply decided to do the same,” said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which is chaired by Bloomberg and is made up of more than 900 mayors from across the country. The Washington Post has more here.

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Obama Presses for Gun Laws in Newtown as GOP Threatens Filibuster - In an impassioned speech that at times took on the tone of a campaign rally, Mr. Obama told an audience of 3,100 at the University of Hartford that he came to Connecticut to ensure that the deaths in the school in Newtown would not recede and to remind Americans how important their voice is as the gun debates unfold. 
      

“If you’re an American who wants to do something to prevent more families from knowing the immeasurable anguish that these families here have known, then we have to act,” Mr. Obama said. “Now’s the time to get engaged. Now’s the time to get involved. Now’s the time to push back on fear and frustration and misinformation. Now’s the time for everybody to make their voices heard, from every statehouse to the corridors of Congress.”

 

But as Mr. Obama spoke, Republicans on Capitol Hill were threatening to prevent a gun-control measure from even coming up for debate. The NY Times has more here.

 

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North Korea Continues War Talk - North Korea issued its latest dispatch of ominous rhetoric Tuesday, telling foreigners in South Korea they should take steps to secure shelter or evacuation to protect themselves in the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

 

The unnerving message came as Japan set up missile defenses in Tokyo, and North Korean workers failed to turn up for work in the industrial complex jointly operated by North and South Korea.

 

In the statement published by state-run media Tuesday, the North's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee reiterated accusations that Washington and Seoul were seeking to provoke a war with Pyongyang. CNN.com has more here.

 

President Obama will meet with Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this afternoon.

 

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Emily's List Adds 6 To GOP House Target List - EMILY’s List will add six House GOP members to its “On Notice” status Tuesday, signaling the group will make each of them a priority target in 2014:

• Joe Heck in Nevada’s 3rd District
• John Kline in Minnesota’s 2nd District
• Tom Latham in Iowa’s 3rd District
• Tom Reed in New York’s 23rd District
• Scott Tipton in Colorado’s 3rd District
• David Valadao in California’s 21st District

EMILY’s List, which backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, said these Republicans must have “amassed appallingly anti-woman, anti-family records” to make the list, according to a press release. Additionally, the group suggested there will be a “major Democratic female talent waiting in the wings” to challenge the GOP incumbent.  RollCall.com has more here.

 

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