Immigration Bill on Senate Glide Path; Perry Calls Second Special Session as Wendy Davis Buzz Grows

National Journal

Wake-Up Call! is Hotline's daily morning briefing on campaigns and elections. Click here to subscribe.

WHAT'S NEWS

  • "In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement," the SCOTUS on Wednesday "ruled that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits," and, "by declining to decide a case" from CA, "effectively allowed same-sex marriages there" (New York Times).

  • "Shortly after Wednesday's ruling," CA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) "issued an order ... requiring all 58 county clerks to issue marriage licenses when the ruling takes effect, which he said might take more than a month" (San Francisco Chronicle).

  • Speaking Thursday at a bilateral presser in Senegal, "a country that outlaws homosexuality," Pres. Obama "praised" the ruling "as a 'victory for American democracy' and said recognition for same-sex unions should cross state lines" (AP). Obama also said in the presser that the court "'made a mistake' in its decision to throw out a crucial provision of the Voting Rights Act" (AP). And Obama stressed that "he won't engage in wheeling, dealing and trading to get NSA leaker Edward Snowden extradited to the U.S." (AP).

  • Barring a last-minute deal to vote on any additional amendments, the immigration bill on the floor of the Senate appears headed to a vote on final passage by the end of this week without any major changes from its current form (National Journal Daily).

  • NYC Mayor '13: "Defying" Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I) and NYPD Commis. Ray Kelly, "the City Council passed two bills Thursday morning" by veto-proof majorities "to rein in the NYPD's use of stop and frisk," one "to create an inspector general who will oversee the NYPD" and the other "to allow people to sue over racial profiling by cops." City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D) "supported the inspector general bill but opposed the racial-profiling measure," though she "agreed to let both come to the floor for votes and supported a rare maneuver to force a vote" on the profiling bill "through a 'motion to discharge'" (New York Daily News). Ex-VT Gov. Howard Dean (D) will hold a fundraiser for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (D) on July 18 in Brooklyn (New York Times). A new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of Dem RVs, conducted 6/19-25, shows Quinn leading the primary over ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, 19-17%, with '09 nominee Bill Thompson at 16%, de Blasio at 10% and Comp. John Liu at 7%. In the previous poll, conducted 5/14-20, Quinn led Weiner, 25-15%, with Thompson at 10%, de Blasio at 10% and Liu at 6% (release).

  • AK SEN: Strategist Jim Lottsfeldt, who has worked for politicians of both parties and donated in the past to Sen. Mark Begich (D), is serving as the "senior adviser" to a new super PAC that aims to focus on Begich's race and spend $3-$5M steering the conversation toward "Alaska issues" over the next year-and-a-half, potentially providing serious outside help for Begich (Hotline reporting).

  • IA SEN: Ex-Reliant Energy CEO Mark Jacobs (R) is forming an exploratory cmte, "adding a deep-pocketed businessman to the growing" GOP field (Politico).

  • LA SEN: Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on an in-state column that suggested he might run against Sen. Mary Landrieu (D), but longtime Jindal consultant Curt Anderson had a succinct response in an email: "Column wrong. No interest. At all" (Hotline reporting).

  • CO GOV: Arapahoe Co. DA George Brachler (R), "who has spent less than half a year" in his job, "said he is 'seriously considering' running "after being urged to take on" Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) (Denver Post).

  • ME GOV: In an op-ed Wednesday, state Senate Asst. Min. Leader Roger Katz (R) decried "the unfortunate tone being set" by Gov. Paul LePage (R). Katz, blaming LePage for the "crisis atmosphere" in Augusta: "His use of vulgarity and schoolyard taunts to demean his Democratic opponents. His failure to offer real apology. And then his insulting of Republican legislators who choose to disagree with him" (Portland Press Herald).

  • TX GOV: "After a one-woman filibuster and a raucous crowd helped derail a GOP-led effort to restrict" abortions in the state, Gov. Rick Perry (R) "announced Wednesday that he's calling lawmakers back next week to try again" (AP). State Sen. Wendy Davis (D), who staged the filibuster, on possibly running for GOV: "You know I would be lying if I told you I hadn't had aspirations" (MSNBC).

  • TX Redistricting: Perry signed bills on Wednesday setting boundaries for cong., state House and state Senate districts (Austin American-Statesman). Rep. Marc Veasey (D) and other plaintiffs "filed a lawsuit Wednesday" in Corpus Christi "to block the state's revived voter identification law" (Austin American-Statesman).

  • WH '16: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will "headline a barbecue" hosted by the SC GOP in Columbia on Friday. Paul's trip "will also include listening sessions in Spartanburg and Columbia before the barbecue" (Washington Times).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Weiner is getting all the headlines, but Thompson's improvement in two polls out this week might be more significant. After spending the first few months of the race trailing the frontrunners by double digits, the '09 nominee is now within striking distance of Weiner and Quinn, putting him firmly in the running for one of the two spots in a likely runoff for the Dem nod.

• Wendy Davis's moment in the sunshine is obscuring AG Greg Abbott (R), whose campaign for TX GOV is slowly taking shape. Dems are desperate for a candidate, but many think Davis is more likely to run for LG. She's playing the long game. Abbott's concern is more immediate: Perry says he'll make a decision on reelection by this weekend.

• Davis is officially a big deal, and you don't need to take our word for it. Look at the other Dems capitalizing on her new fame with fundraising appeals, like Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), who told her email list that she wanted to follow Davis's example in the U.S. Senate.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "The next time that you are forced to hear a diatribe from the yacht club crowd about how terrible it is that we don't have more moderate candidates, ask them what they did for Gabriel Gomez in the Massachusetts special election. If they have nothing to say on that, then politely tell them to shut up, and advise them to keep their day jobs" -- Anderson, who also served as a consultant for Gomez, in an op-ed for Politico published on Wednesday.

  • NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) "now has a far cooler way to tool around" NY this summer: his "motorcycle -- a Harley Davidson Electra Glide -- got a makeover courtesy" of NY-based Orange Co. Choppers. The bike "now sports an image of the governor's flag and the [words] 'Fifty Six' spelled out beneath it" (New York Daily News).

  • "My name is Joe Lhota, and I'm running for Mayor of New York City. It won't take me long to convince you to send me an urgently-needed contribution to my campaign. In fact, I think it will only take seven words: One of my opponents is Anthony Weiner" -- Lhota, in an email solicitation Wednesday, emphasis his (release).

  • Nassau Co. (NY) Exec. candidate Adam Haber (D) "has canceled a controversial" TV ad against ex-Nassau Co. Exec. Tom Suozzi (D) that "has drawn criticism" from a nat'l Italian-American group and "some local" Dems "for its portrayal of a group of political 'hacks' eating spaghetti and drinking red wine and talking about how to get Suozzi back into office" (Newsday).

  • "We've got counties who are talking about seceding. I don't know if they really can do it, but I'm going to keep telling them, 'Just wait.' Apres moi, le deluge" -- CO GOV candidate/ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo (R), in a meeting with The Hotline on Wednesday. National Journal members can enjoy more highlights from the interview in Hotline's Latest Edition later Thursday.

  • Michael Mancil Brown of Franklin, TN, "was charged Wednesday in a scheme involving" ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) "income tax returns" during the WH '12 campaign. Brown "is accused of having an anonymous letter delivered to the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP accounting firm in Franklin last August, demanding" that $1M in "digital currency be deposited to a Bitcoin account to keep some of Romney's income tax returns from being released" (AP).

  • "The female members of the press won a seesaw battle of softball brawn Wednesday night" at the Fifth Annual Cong. Women's Softball Game, defeating female members of Congress, 11-8, "to take home the coveted softball trophy for the second consecutive year" (Roll Call).

  • "I'm not going to be Hillary Clinton, OK? I'm not going to, you know, be a Cubs fan my whole life, and then when I go to run for office in another state, pretend I'm a Yankee fan. I don't think there's anything -- in sports -- more reprehensible than that" -- NJ Gov. Chris Christie (R), asked about being a Dallas Cowboys fan on WKXW-FM (CNN).

  • "CNN's the only cable news channel that can do a show like this" -- CNN DC bureau chief Sam Feist, on the new "Crossfire" (New York Times).

  • "Into The Wild: Alan Simpson and Grover Norquist hunt for common ground at the National Zoo" (Time).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Then-DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel sent pollster Alan Secrest a dead fish after losing the House seat previously belonging to Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY).

  • The winner is Patrick Derocher, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Which basketball legend accompanied Richard Nixon to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"I got an offer I couldn't refuse" -- Ex-House Maj. Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), on the $8M payout he received in exchange for his retirement from FreedomWorks (Washingtonian).

...CHASER

"Hey, Mike, are you sure about that? I mean, Moe, loves the business. He never said anything to me about sellin'" -- "Fredo Corleone" ("The Godfather").

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor

CORRECTION: Wednesday's Wake-Up Call! misspelled Perry adviser Mark Miner's last name.