Obama Moves to Restrict Drone Strikes; Tancredo Announcing for CO GOV; Walker Heads West to IA

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama "plans to open a new phase in the nation's long struggle with terrorism on Thursday by restricting the use of unmanned drone strikes that have been at the heart of his national security strategy and shifting control of them away" from the CIA to the military. The Obama admin. on Wednesday "formally acknowledged for the first time that it had killed four American citizens in drone strikes outside the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq" (New York Times). In his speech Thursday at NDU at Ft. McNair, Obama will emphasize "a long-stalled drive to close the prison" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but "the move is likely to be viewed at best skeptically" by Cong. GOPers (Wall Street Journal).

  • IRS dir. of exempt organizations Lois Lerner "insisted Wednesday that she did nothing wrong but also declined to answer questions from lawmakers, saying she did not want to incriminate herself in any future criminal proceedings." House Oversight and Gov't Reform Cmte Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) "announced that he might recall Lerner before the committee and review whether she waived her Fifth Amendment rights by giving an opening statement" (Washington Post).

  • MA SEN Special: Ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez's (R) camp on Wednesday allowed "two reporters" to "review hundreds of pages of documents" related Gomez's tax returns from '06-'11 for "just over an hour," documents that revealed Gomez "reported adjusted gross income" of $10.1M "as a private equity investor" over that time (Boston Globe).

  • NJ GOV '13: Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Wednesday "released another ad attacking his likely challenger," state Sen. Barbara Buono (D), trying "to link Buono to" ex-Gov. Jon Corzine (D) (Newark Star-Ledger).

  • VA GOV '13: "At the direction" of AG Ken Cuccinelli (D), Richmond Commonwealth's Atty Michael Herring (D) "has been investigating" Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R) "statements of economic interest" since Nov., "for possible violations of disclosure laws" (Richmond Times-Dispatch).

  • NYC Mayor '13: Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D), who is holding his first public events in NYC Thursday, wrote an op-ed in Thursday's Daily News.

  • KY SEN: The GOP super PAC "Kentuckians for Strong Leadership took out a full page ad in Tuesday's Kentucky Enquirer attacking" Sec/State Allison Lundergan Grimes (D) "ahead of her appearance Wednesday night in Crestview Hills" (Cincinnati Enquirer).

  • SD SEN: Ex-Gov. Mike Rounds (R) named '04 Thune mgr./ex-CO GOP Chair Dick Wadhams "as a consultant" (Sioux Falls Argus Leader).

  • CO GOV: '10 Const. nominee/ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) "said late Wednesday night he plans to formally announce" his candidacy "on conservative talk radio host Peter Boyles show" Thursday, referring to Gov. John Hickenlooper's (D) "decision on Wednesday to grant a temporary reprieve on the execution of death row inmate Nathan Dunlap" as "the last straw" (Denver Post). Meanwhile, Sec/State Scott Gessler (R) said Wednesday in Fort Collins: "I'll be very clear about what I'm doing, probably within a week" (Loveland Reporter-Herald).

  • IA GOV: According to a new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of RVs, conducted 5/15-21, 42% feel Gov. Terry Branstad (R) deserves to be reelected, while 43% feel he does not deserve to be reelected (release).

  • NH GOV: The state House on Wednesday "killed" Gov. Maggie Hassan's (D) "pet proposal to bring casino gambling" to NH, which "had been a key component of Hassan's successful campaign" in '12 (New Hampshire Union-Leader).

  • PA GOV: EMILY's List endorsed Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D), making her "their first endorsement" of the '14 GOV cycle (ABC News).

  • WI GOV: Gov. Scott Walker (R) "is gearing up" for reelection, but on Thursday he planned to travel to IA to address GOP activists at the Polk Co. GOP fundraiser in West Des Moines (AP).

  • LA GOV '15: Sen. David Vitter (R) "will spend several days this fall raising money for an outside group set up to support him in both state and federal elections, fueling speculation" that Vitter may be preparing to run" for GOV in '15 (Politico).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Dems cried bloody murder when Republican legislatures passed voter ID bills during the 2011-2012 state legislative seasons, but they took note, too. After Hickenlooper signed Colorado's all-mail election bill into law, it's now Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton's turn. The Dem-controlled legislature's no-fault absentee bill is a first step that most other blue states have already taken.

• Plenty of vulnerable members turn to neighbors from the other party to help cultivate a bipartisan record. As Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) has discovered, it gets a little trickier when your neighbor is also in charge of ending your career.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "TIME Exclusive: President Obama's 1979 Prom Photos" (Time).

  • Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) forthcoming book, scheduled to be published in Spring '14, is characterized by publisher Henry Holt & Co. "as telling both 'Senator Warren's improbable rise from a working class family in Oklahoma to the United States Senate,' as well as providing 'a rousing call for protecting the middle class'" (Boston Globe).

  • Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will "release his first major book next year, and it'll feature a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions" (National Review).

  • "The senior senator from Arizona urged this body to trust the Republicans. Let me be clear, I don't trust the Republicans. I don't trust the Democrats and I think a whole lot of Americans likewise don't trust the Republicans or the Democrats because it is leadership in both parties that has got us into this mess" -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), after Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "delivered a scolding criticism" of Cruz and Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) "for trying to block" efforts "to send the Senate budget to conference with the House" (Politico).

  • Vitter is attending a $5K-per-person "alligator hunt fundraiser complete with Cajun food, an airboat swamp tour and a 'tag' to hunt the toothy reptiles" (Washington Examiner).

  • "He came up in passing. So did [ex-Rep. Stephanie] Herseth [Sandlin] and [ex-Daschle staffer Rick] Weiland" -- Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), acknowledging that he had conversations with Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid and DSCC Chair Michael Bennet about the prospect of his son, U.S. Atty Brendan Johnson, running for his seat in '14 (Sioux Falls Argus-Leader).

  • "A deep bench and powerful inside presence under the basket" gave NC state lawmakers "the advantage they needed to make a second half run and beat a squad" of SC legislators, 35-27, in a charity basketball game Wednesday. NC Gov. Pat McCrory (R) "made an appearance in the second half, playing good minutes but clanked two free throws late in the game" (Raleigh News & Observer).

  • "If you can find us one, please let me know. ... Do any of you want to come to Harrisburg? See?!" -- PA Gov. Tom Corbett (R), asked at a forum last week sponsored by a Spanish-language media outlet if he had any Latinos working in his admin. (Think Progress).

  • Commerce Sec.-designate Penny Pritzker "inadvertently understated a portion of her income by at least" $80M "in a disclosure form required for her nomination ... and has amended the document" (Bloomberg News).

  • "I'm a Mets fan. And I know that doesn't poll well, but it's deep in my veins" -- Weiner (Politicker).

  • WJLA-TV meteorologist Bob Ryan ended his 33-year DC weather career Wednesday night (WJLA-TV).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Grover Cleveland was the first POTUS to invite a championship baseball team to the WH, the 1886 Chicago White Stockings.

  • That one stumped the Wake-Up Call! community, so here's a bonus question: "Weiner was first elected to Congress in 1998, winning a Dem primary for the seat vacated by then-Rep. Chuck Schumer by only a few hundred votes. Which NYC politician, who is also running for an office in city gov't this year, finished a close second?" The 2nd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"When citizens took a look at the information, they decided for themselves that the risk wasn't worth it" -- Clean Water Portland (OR) spokesperson Kellie Barnes, after Portland voters rejected water fluoridation Tuesday for the fourth time since '56 (Portland Oregonian).

...CHASER

"It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works" -- Gen. "Jack D. Ripper" ("Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb").

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor