George Wenschhof
* He ran in a Republican district. Mitt Romney won the 1st by 18 points in 2012. Sanford carried the seat with more than 60 percent in each of his gubernatorial campaigns. The district hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since the early 1970s.
Chris Cizzilla has more on how Sanford won here.
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Obama to dine with House Democratic leaders tonight - President Obama will have dinner with senior House Democrats on Wednesday night, a White House official told TPM on Tuesday afternoon.
"In the evening, the President will have dinner at the Jefferson Hotel with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and members of the House Democratic Leadership," the White House official said. "The dinner will be closed press."
The attendees will be Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) and Reps. James Clyburn (SC), Xavier Becerra (CA), Joe Crowley (NY), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Rosa DeLauro (CT), Rob Andrews (NJ), Steve Israel (NY) and Mike Thompson (CA). TPM.com has more here.
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Air Force strips 17 officers of authority to launch ICBMs - The Air Force stripped an unprecedented 17 officers of their authority to control — and, if necessary, launch — nuclear missiles after a string of unpublicized failings, including a remarkably dim review of their unit’s launch skills. The group’s deputy commander said it is suffering “rot” within its ranks.
“We are, in fact, in a crisis right now,” the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by the Air Force. The Washington Post has more here.
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Inflation rate about half of Federal Reserve's 2% target - With the inflation rate about half of the Federal Reserve's 2.0 percent target, the central bank is facing a major test and some experts wonder whether it will eventually need to ramp up its already aggressive bond buying program.
The Fed cut official interest rates effectively to zero in late 2008 during the financial crisis. Since then, it has bought more than $2.5 trillion in bonds to bolster an anemic economic recovery and speed up the decline in unemployment.
Despite those actions, its favored inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, has fallen to a 3-1/2 year low of 1.0 percent.
Further, by the Fed's own forecasts, inflation is likely to remain short of the central bank's target for years. Reuters.com has more here.
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Delaware legalizes gay marriage - Delaware became the 11th state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage when Democratic Gov. Jack Markell signed a gay marriage bill into law just minutes after its passage by the state Senate on Tuesday.
"I do not intend to make any of you wait one moment longer," a smiling Markell told about 200 jubilant supporters who erupted in cheers and applause following the 12-9 Senate vote barely half an hour earlier. Politico.com has more here.
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Minnesota to vote on gay marriage this week - A bill that would legalize same sex marriage in Minnesota passed a major hurdle in the House Ways and Means Committee, last night... and now, some state lawmakers expect it to clear another.
It passed yet another hurdle, earlier today, after the Senate Finance Committee reviewed its version of the bill's fiscal impact and decided to send it back to the floor for a full Senate vote.
These votes come six months after the state voted against a constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage in Minnesota.
House Majority Leader Paul Thissen has said he would not bring the bill to a full House vote unless he was confident the votes were there to pass the legislation.
Governor Mark Dayton has also said he would sign the bill into law, which would allow same–sex couples to get married starting August first. Northlandsnewscenter.com has more here.
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