Employer Mandate Delayed, McConnell Autotunes, Franken Rival Pulls In Surprising Cash

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Both Egyptian Pres. Mohamed Morsi and army commanders "pledged to spill their blood to achieve their aims" as the country spiraled toward a military-imposed deadline for Morsi to cede power and anti-Morsi protestors filled Tahrir Square (New York Times). Sixteen people were killed and more than 200 injured in clashes overnight (Al Jazeera).

  • The Obama admin will delay a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would have required businesses with more than 50 employees to provide affordable health care or pay a fine of up to $3K per employee. The provision will be delayed until 2015, after the midterms (Bloomberg). WH senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, in a blog post: "As we implement this law, we have and will continue to make changes as needed. In our ongoing discussions with businesses we have heard that you need the time to get this right. We are listening." (White House)

  • KY SEN: Senate Conservatives Fund head Matt Hoskins says Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell "is now the least electable Republican senator running for re-election. ... He needs to consider whether it might be time to hang it up" (Washington Post). McConnell's campaign released a ridiculously funny auto-tuned web video mocking Sec/State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) (YouTube).

  • ND SEN: Ex-Gov. Mike Rounds (R) raised $600K last quarter, 3 times the amount he raised in the 1stQ (Sioux Falls Argus Leader's Political Smokeout blog). Amazing what a little kick in the tush from the NRSC can do.

  • MN SEN: "In one month, we’ve gained approximately 27,000 Facebook ‘likes,’ which my kids tell me is a good thing." -- Businessman Mike McFadden (R), who raised $700K in his first month as a candidate, only $10K of it from his own pocket (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

  • TX GOV: Rick Perry "is inviting close friends and supporters to an event next Monday in San Antonio where he is expected to announce if he has plans to seek an unprecedented fourth full term" (CNN). The special session delayed Perry's originally-scheduled announcement, which was supposed to come this week.

  • ME GOV: Paul LePage told attendees at a private fundraiser keynoted by ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush that he's running for re-election next year, putting to rest any lingering doubts based on his comments last week (Portland Press-Herald).

  • NJ SEN: Rep. Frank Pallone (D) says he expects Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) to have erased Pallone's $2M fundraising advantage when reports are released over the next two weeks (Bergen Record).

  • IL 17: Citizens United's PAC gave $5K to ex-Rep. Bobby Schilling (R) in the 2ndQ, even though Schilling hasn't said whether he'll run for his old seat (Quad City Times).

  • Organizing for America has been holding rallies for immigration reform across the country, but "the results have been mixed." They attracted 8 protestors to rally outside Rep. Pete Visclosky's (D-IN) office in Merillville Monday, and sent an email to supporters Tuesday highlighting other rallies across the country, "most more popular than the one in Indiana" (Huffington Post).

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • 56% of Americans approve of a SCOTUS ruling that "provid[es] legally married same-sex couples with the same federal benefits given to other married couples," while 41% disapprove. Just 33% approve of a ruling striking down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, while 51% disapproved, according to a WaPo-ABC poll conducted by the Pew Research Center of 1,005 adults, conducted 6/26-30 (Washington Post)

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day


• Let's face facts: Grimes's rollout in KY SEN was marred by a series of unnecessary gaffes. But instead of letting her stumble on her own, McConnell's camp released its own flub-filled video. The race that promises to be one of the most contested all year has gotten off to an embarrassing start -- for both sides.

• Pallone is lowering expectations ahead of the release of second quarter fundraising numbers, touting Booker's fundraising prowess. But given his early cash on hand advantage, we're curious when Pallone is going to dip into his sizable warchest and start running TV ads. With the Democratic primary less than six weeks away, Booker has a huge lead in the polls and the airwaves all to himself.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "Sources" say Grimes signaled she was ready to say no to a KY SEN bid in order to gain leverage with the DSCC. The negotiations continued into Monday. Grimes father/ex-KY Dem chair Jerry Lundergan: "This has been a very exhausting day" (WHAS-TV).

  • "I have to tell you that, in the discussions I had with my senior staff, people like Stuart Stevens and Russ Schriefer said, ‘Look, Newt is not going to be the nominee. I don’t care what the polls say, he’s not going to be the nominee.’ I was far less sanguine about that" -- Mitt Romney, in an interview that appears in Dan Balz's new book on the 2012 campaign (Washington Post).

  • "It's hard to say, I'm just going to manage the shit out of this" -- UMBC prof. Tom Schaller, on the challenges facing MD Gov. Martin O'Malley's potential WH'16 race (New Republic).

  • NJ Gov. Chris Christie, Newark Mayor Booker and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg are all on the guest list for Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley retreat, along with Hollywood and Silicon Valley business leaders (Variety).

  • "I shot myself a deer" -- SCOTUS Justice Elena Kagan, revealing details at the Aspen Ideas Festival of her hunting trip to WY last fall with fellow Justice Antonin Scalia (CNN).

  • "It’s like the seventh grade but without the lollipops" -- a Congressional aide, on the tension at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (New York Times' DealBook).

  • "Why are you turning red, Prime Minister?" "I'm not. Why are you sweating?" -- US fugitive Kim Dotcom and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, debating an expansion of the country's spy agency before a parliamentary cmte Key was chairing (AP)

  • "No one injured as state fireworks safety demo comes to quick end after explosive mishap" (New Hampshire Union Leader).

  • Star Scientific CEO Jonnie WIlliams Sr. paid for a flight VA Gov. Bob McDonnell and his family took to cheer on the VCU Rams during their improbable 2011 Final Four run. McDonnell's PAC reported a $22K in-kind contribution from the nutritional supplement firm (Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot).

  • Voting ends tomorrow for the MLB All-Star game. Vote early! Vote often! (MLB)

  • Happy Fourth of July! We're off the rest of the week to pursue our other favorite activity -- launching fireworks off the Watergate's roof -- so we'll see you Monday.

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) ascends to the chairmanship of the Senate Finance Cmte comes almost 20 years after Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) held the same post. Packwood quit Congress in 1995.

  • The winner is Marjorie Chorlins, but we didn't hear back from her after informing her she won. So here's a toss-up Swizzle Challenge for the holiday weekend: "Who was the youngest person to sign the Declaration of Independence, and what high office did he hold when he died in 1800? " The 1st correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Christie told her to ask the director if he had ever heard anyone say 'f***' on live television, because that's what he was about to do if the video didn't run" -- ("Collision 2012" via CNN)

...CHASER

"Go f*** yourself, San Diego" -- Ron Burgandy (Anchorman)

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor