Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

U.S. Budget Deficit Narrows to $642 Billion - The U.S. budget deficit will shrink by the end of fiscal 2013 to $642 billion, the smallest shortfall in five years, according to the nonpartisanCongressional Budget Office.

The decline from last year’s $1.1 trillion deficit would mark the first time since 2008 that the gap between taxes and spending slipped to under $1 trillion. It would also postpone the effective deadline for raising the government’s debt ceiling to avoid default until as late as November, the agency said. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Obama: IRS report "Intolerable and Inexcusable" - President Barack Obama on Tuesday called an Inspector General report detailing gross misconduct at the Internal Revenue Service "intolerable and inexcusable," adding that those responsible will be held accountable.  TPM.com has the full statement from the White House here.

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Holder Under Scrutiny over AP Journalists Phone Records Probe - Although Holder said Tuesday he had recused himself last year from the probe into the leak — he had been questioned by investigators and wanted to avoid a conflict of interest — he has again been caught in the political crossfire. This time, the criticism is coming not only from Republicans but also from Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties groups disturbed by the Justice Department’s actions.

Under vigorous questions from reporters, Holder said Tuesday that Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole has overseen the FBI investigation into the leak and had authorized the seizure of phone records. But Holder also defended his department’s decision, saying he was confident that the officials involved in the investigation had taken the appropriate steps and followed the relevant Justice Department regulations. The Washington Post has more here.

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Lawmakers in 2012 Pushed for Agressive Leak Probes - Lawmakers were up in arms Tuesday over the Department of Justice’s decision to subpoena Associated Press reporters’ telephone records for the stated purpose of investigating leaks on a foiled terrorist attempt.

But it wasn’t so long ago that politicians in both parties didn’t think the administration was doing enough to investigate unauthorized disclosures of classified national security material.

In the summer of 2012, Republicans especially were calling for further scrutiny of national security leaks they believed came from the administration to prop up President Barack Obama’s re-election bid.  RollCall.com has more here.
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House immigration Group Fails to Reach Agreement - The House’s bipartisan immigration group is at a crippling impasse, and top aides and lawmakers are unsure if they’ll ever come to the agreement they’ve sought for four years, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.
 
With the Senate advancing its own bill this week, the House group’s problems are multifaceted and help explain the long delay in releasing legislation.

The most polarizing disagreement is over a so-called trigger that would eliminate the legalization process for 11 million undocumented immigrants if an employment verification program — called E-Verify — is not in place in five years. Most Democrats consider that trigger too harsh, but Republicans insist on it.  Politico.com has more here.
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Euro Zone remains in recession - Germany's economy crept back into growth at the start of the year but not by enough to stop the euro zone from contracting for a sixth straight quarter, and France slid into recession.

Falling output across the bloc meant the 17-nation economy is in its longest recession since records began in 1995.  Reuters.com has more here.

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Syrian Rockets Land in Golan Heights - Several Syrian rockets landed early Wednesday in the Mount Hermon area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on the border with Syria, the Israeli military said.

"Initial reports indicate that the rockets are a result of (the) domestic situation in Syria," a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces said.

"As a result the Hermon side of the mountain will be temporarily closed for visitors."

The Israel Defense Forces has been in touch with the U.N. force stationed between the two countries, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, over the incident. CNN.com has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama pushes back on Benghazi and IRS targeting of conservative groups - President Barack Obama on Monday derided the controversy over inter-agency talking points drafted in the wake of last year’s Benghazi attack, saying that charges of a politically motivated cover-up are a “sideshow” and little more than a “political circus.”

“The whole thing defies logic,” Obama said at a White House event with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “And the fact that this whole thing keeps getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations.”

Amid outcry over revelations that Internal Revenue Service specialists specifically targeted conservative groups for scrutiny before the 2012 elections, President Barack Obama said Monday that the tax agency employees' reported conduct was "outrageous" and "contrary to our traditions."  NBC News has more here.

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Justice Department secretly obtained AP phone records - The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.  You can read more here.

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53% of Americans support same-sex marriages - Fifty-three percent of Americans say the law should recognize same-sex marriages, the third consecutive reading of 50% or above in Gallup polling over the past year. The 53% in favor ties the high to this point, also measured last November and in May 2011.  Gallup.com has more here.

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RNC Hispanic Outreach Director Becomes a Democrat - Pablo Pantoja, who previously served as the State Director of Florida Hispanic Outreach for the Republican National Committee, has defected to the Democratic Party.
 
Citing the GOP's "culture of intolerance," Pantoja confirmed his party change in an email sent Monday to Florida Nation. Pantoja also drew reference to a much-maligned dissertation from the Heritage Foundation's Jason Richwine that sought to discourage non-whites from immigrating to the United States on the basis that those groups have lower IQs. Richwine resigned from his post at Heritage last week.

"I have wondered before about the seemingly harsh undertones about immigrants and others," Pantoja wrote. "Look no further; a well-known organization recently confirms the intolerance of that which seems different or strange to them."  TPM.com has more here.

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SEC may require businesses to disclose political contributions - The Securities and Exchange Commission under new chief Mary Jo White is approaching a crucial decision on whether to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their campaign spending to shareholders.

If pursued, new disclosure rules could have major ramifications for both political spending on elections and the increasingly influential regulator.

Roughly half a million public comments about the proposal have poured into the agency, the overwhelming majority of which argue that shareholders have a right to know how companies involve themselves in politics. TheHill.com has more here.

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Russia detains U.S. Embassy worker for spy recruitment -  Russia has detained an American citizen accused of trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer to work for the CIA, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday.

It said the man was an employee at the U.S. embassy in Moscow but also worked for the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The embassy declined immediate comment.

A spokesman for the FSB identified the man as Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the embassy, and said he was carrying a large amount of money and instructions for the Russian he was trying to recruit.

He said Fogle, who was also carrying "special technical equipment" and the "means for changing one's appearance", was detained overnight and then handed over to U.S. officials. Reuters.com has more here.

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Viability of Euro Questionable - Europeans have never been wild about the European Union. With the region sapped by the euro crisis, confidence in the institution and the benefits it was supposed to provide is flagging faster and further than ever before, according to an influential opinion survey released Monday.

The results of an annual survey by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, show a deepening disillusionment with the union in major member countries.
       

The results of the survey suggest that more citizens than ever could end up opposing the transfer of more power to European Union institutions that may be vital for transforming the euro into a viable currency over the long term. The NY Times has more here.

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Kuzemchak runs for reelection

George Wenschhof

I enjoyed talking with Donna Kuzemchak the other day over coffee.  The former two-term Democratic alderman is running for reelection, after losing in the 2009 general election.

The City of Frederick will hold their primary election on September 10 and general election on November 5, 2013.  The deadline for candidates to file is July 2.

During our conversation and a follow up email, Donna informed me she would be holding a series of meetings with voters to continue to learn every day about what different people find important.

 

Donna said her first community meeting Wednesday in Worman's Mill was very enlightening and she realized she needed to start following city planning issues again more closely. She planned to use the early months of the campaign to bring herself back up to speed on the issues that face all areas of the city.

Kuzemchak added “she thought the economic viability of Frederick along with quality of life are the most important issues Frederick residents face, and they're intertwined.”

When I asked her about the rumored entry into the mayoral race by former one-term Republican mayor Jeff Holtzinger, she was quick to respond “If Jeff decides to run for office and hasn't LIVED in the city for at least a year, I will challenge his residency. If he's moved his family into the city and I don't know about it, of course I wouldn't challenge him. Allowing someone to hold the highest elected office in a city s/he doesn't even live in is like saying someone who comes from Pennsylvania or Virginia to work and spend time in Maryland qualifies them to run for governor.”

 

Kuzemchak also spoke of the need to reach out to all residents of Frederick, and "that NACs (Neighborhood Advisory Councils) are a great way to do that...., elected officials should be reaching out to underserved populations (whether it be Hispanic, Asian, deaf, etc.) and asking them to get involved in the NACs."

Donna is the seventh Democratic candidate to file for alderman to date according to the City of Frederick website. The seven Democrats are: Josh Bokee, John Daniels, Donna Kuzemchak, Jack Lynch, Michael O’Connor, Kelly Russell, and Derek Shackelford.

The four Republicans who have filed to run for Alderman are: Daniel Cowell, Phillip Dacey, Hayden Duke and Jill King.

Stay tuned….

 

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Durbin says Republicans targeting Clinton over Benghazi with 2016 in mind - The Senate’s second-ranking Democrat suggested Sunday that Republicans are going after former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over last year’s deadly attack in Benghazi with an eye on hurting her image ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign.


“Unfortunately, this has been caught up in the 2016 presidential campaign–this effort to go after Hillary Clinton,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” “The reason she wasn’t interviewed was she didn’t have any direct-line responsibility for the decisions that were made, but they want to bring her in because they think it’s a good political show, and I think that’s unfortunate.”  The Washington Post has more here.

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Obama hails Pakistan's first democratic election - President Obama hailed Pakistan on its election this weekend, calling it a "significant milestone" for the nation's democracy.

In a statement released Sunday, the president congratulated the Pakistani people on their parliamentary elections, which marked the first time the nation transferred power from one elected government to another.

"The United States stands with all Pakistanis in welcoming this historic peaceful and transparent transfer of civilian power, which is a significant milestone in Pakistan’s democratic progress," he said. "By conducting competitive campaigns, freely exercising your democratic rights, and persevering despite intimidation by violent extremists, you have affirmed a commitment to democratic rule that will be critical to achieving peace and prosperity for all Pakistanis for years to come."  TheHill.com has more here.

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Minnesota set to approve same-sex marriage - The Minnesota Senate is expected to give final approval on Monday to a bill that would make the state the 12th in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry and only the second in the Midwest.

Leaders in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 39-28 majority, have said they believe they have the support to approve a bill legalizing gay marriage. They set a vote for Monday on the measure that members of the state House approved last week.

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has said he would sign the bill, which would make Minnesota the third state this month to legalize gay marriage after Rhode Island and Delaware. The law would take effect August 1.  Reuters.com has more here.

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Republicans blast IRS for targeting conservative groups - Republicans blasted the Internal Revenue Service on Sunday for targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, calling for a full investigation and pressuring the Obama administration to hold the agency accountable.

“The bottom line is they used key words to go after conservatives. This is something you have to institute changes to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said on “Meet the Press.” “There’s got to be accountability for people who were telling lies about it being done.” Politico.com has more here.

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Massachusetts Senate race remains tight -  In the special election contest to replace the vacant John  Kerry seat, a new poll conducted for Republican Gabriel Gomez’s campaign shows Gomez trailing Democratic Rep. Ed Markey by just three points.

The May 5-7 poll of 800 likely special election voters by OnMessage, Inc., a Republican political consulting firm, found Markey leading Gomez 46 percent to 43 percent, with 11 percent undecided. According to an OnMessage polling memo, respondents “were stratified by county based on previous election results to reflect historic voter trends.”

The survey found Markey’s name ID at 45 percent favorable/35 percent unfavorable to Gomez’s 43 percent favorable/15 percent unfavorable.

Markey held a 73 percent-12 percent lead over Gomez among Democrats, while Gomez held a 94 percent to 3 percent lead among Republicans. The contest remains very competitive because the Republican held a 50 percent to 36 percent advantage among Independents.  RollCall.com has more here.

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