The Hotline and Friends Remember Founder Doug Bailey; Markey Leads By 7 Points in New Polls
Wake-Up Call! is Hotline's daily morning briefing on campaigns and elections. Click here to subscribe.
WHAT'S NEWS
Hotline founder Doug Bailey, considered one of the fathers of modern political consulting, passed away Sunday night, friends said. During a political career that spanned parts of 6 decades, Bailey consulted for moderate GOPers and spearheaded Gerald Ford's WH '76 ad campaign. He was 79 (Hotline reporting).
Bailey's love of politics was unending, and his generosity, kindness and willingness to teach influenced two generations of consultants, elected officials and journalists around DC. He leaves behind his wife Pat, his son Ed, his daughter Kate and a publication that will be forever grateful for his vision and wisdom.
After two days of speeches that teed up the floor fight on immigration reform, the Senate on Tuesday will hold a cloture vote and a vote on the motion to proceed to the bill, which would open its doors to a flood of amendments (National Journal Daily).
House Speaker John Boehner "said he believes that passing an immigration bill in the House is the most important thing on his agenda this year, but he "also expressed concerns that the Senate's bill, which has been largely shepherded through the Senate by a bi-partisan 'Gang of Eight,' does not do enough to address border security" (ABC News).
MA SEN Special: A new WBUR-FM poll, conducted 6/6-9 by MassINC Polling Group, shows Rep. Edward Markey (D) leading ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R), 46-39%. In the previous poll, conducted 5/5-6, Markey led Gomez, 46-38% (release). A new Suffolk Univ. poll of LVs, conducted 6/6-9, shows Markey leading Gomez, 48-41%. In the previous poll, conducted 5/4-7, Markey led, 55-38% (release).
NJ SEN Special: A new Rutgers-Eagleton poll of Dem and Dem-leaning indie RVs, conducted 6/3-9, shows Newark Mayor Cory Booker leading the Dem primary over Rep. Frank Pallone, 55-9%, with Rep. Rush Holt at 8% (release). Four Dems and two GOPers "filed signatures to run" by the Monday afternoon deadline, with state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D) "the last entry" (New York Times).
IA SEN: State Sen. Joni Ernst (R) "has secured a senior strategist" for a "likely" campaign, and GOPers "now expect her to decide" on the race "within a month's time" (Politico).
The DCCC is launching Spanish-language radio ads hitting GOP reps. for voting to reverse Pres. Obama's deportation policy for those brought to the U.S. as children. The ads are running against Reps. Mike Coffman (CO-06), Blake Farenthold (TX-27), John Kline (MN-02), Joe Heck (NV-03), Buck McKeon (CA-25), Gary Miller (CA-31), Erik Paulsen (MN-03), Steve Pearce (NM-02) and Frank Wolf (VA-10) (release).
TX redistricting: "The contours of an agreement might have emerged Monday" as a GOP lawmaker and an atty for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus "said there was a consensus that minority groups would accept maps that create one to two" more cong. districts "in which ... minorities hold sway" and "five to seven more seats in the state House" (El Paso Times).
WV-01: The DCCC has "their sights set" on state Aud. Glen Gainer (D), who "is having trouble deciding whether to run," as a potential candidate against Rep. David McKinley (R) (MetroNews).
IL GOV: Ex-WH CoS Bill Daley (D) "announced Tuesday he is forming" an exploratory cmte that allows him "to begin raising money for a challenge" to Gov. Pat Quinn (D) and "sets up what could be one of the most intriguing" '14 Dem primaries (AP).
WH '16: Ex-Sec/State Hillary Clinton (D) launched a Twitter account on Monday "with a biography identifying her as a 'hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker,'" only "a few days before she is set to deliver a major public address at the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago, offering her thoughts on domestic policies for the first time since her unsuccessfu'" WH '08 bid (Washington Post).
OUR CALL
Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day
• Who gets the real credit for an economic turnaround? This year, it'll probably be the campaign managers. IA Gov. Terry Branstad (R) and NM Gov. Susana Martinez (R) are two incumbents who will take credit for their states' economic rebounds. Dems in Senate races will have to hope voters give them the benefit of the doubt, as well.
• The one knock on Booker's potential as a Senate candidate has been that he's reportedly unpopular with the state party establishment, giving Pallone or another Democrat the chance to lock up a lot of local, institutional support. But Booker has only officially been in the race for a few days, and he already has the endorsements of two of the state party's biggest power brokers in George Norcross and Joe DiVincenzo.
• With Dems holding a legislative supermajority in Sacramento, CA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has turned, ironically, into the closest thing state Republicans have to a powerful ally. State budget negotiations ended with Brown's more conservative revenue projections winning out over Dem legislators who wanted to spend more now. The GOP will still find plenty of reasons to criticize Brown next year, but his budgeting strategy -- from raising taxes on the wealthy for education funding to spending more moderately -- is right in alignment with a majority of CA voters.
REMEMBERING DOUG BAILEY
"Even when Washington was at its worst, Doug wanted to search for the possibility that it could be at its best. For me, not sure there was anyone who taught me more about how to think about politics and Washington than Doug Bailey. For that, I'm eternally grateful" -- NBC News Chief WH Corr./Political Dir./ex-Hotline Editor-in-Chief Chuck Todd (Hotline reporting).
"Doug Bailey was a rare individual. He cared about every person he met and every issue he tackled. I would never have been elected governor without his help, and he did his best after that to help me be the best possible governor. He was a great friend and a great example for anyone who cares about public service" -- Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) (Hotline reporting).
"There are tons of folks at various levels who will mourn his loss because Doug helped them along their way, me included" -- ex-WH press sec. Mike McCurry (Hotline reporting).
"Doug may have had the vision to create the Hotline, but he was a hands-off boss. He didn't stand over us, didn't insert a point of view in the product ... come to think of it, there was no evidence he had a point of view. Just that he loved politics, wanted to share his love, and created a vehicle that accomplished that" -- NPR Political Junkie/ex-Hotline managing ed. Ken Rudin (Hotline reporting).
"For those of us who wrote about politics, he was a teacher and a source of great insight. And almost every moment with him was fun" -- Columnist Al Hunt (Bloomberg View).
"Hotline was the rumor mill plus the Internet plus Twitter plus local, national and office politics. Doug Bailey was ahead of his time" -- Dem strategist Paul Begala (CNN).
"He was just incredibly kind and generous with his intellect, and he hired a lot of young people and encouraged them to do great things" -- ex-Hotliner Amy Kramer (CNN).
"RIP: Doug Bailey was as classy as anyone I ever met in politics...he embodied JFK's line: 'civility is not a sign of weakness'" -- PBS political analyst Jeff Greenfield (Twitter).
"I've been around long enough to remember anxiously waiting to pull Hotline off the fax machine every day... & loving it! RIP Doug Bailey" -- Dem consultant Mo Elleithee (Twitter).
"Working for Doug Bailey at Hotline in early 90s was quite simply the best experience of my professional life. Can't believe he's gone" -- SportsBusiness Daily founding editor Steve Bilafer (Twitter).
Have your own memory of Doug Bailey you'd like to share? Email us, and we'll include them in Wednesday's Wake-Up Call!, when we'll also return with some of our regular features.
NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS
Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Steven Shepard, Executive Editor
