50 YEARS LATER, LEWIS STILL MARCHING ON WASHINGTON – Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports for the New York Times:” John Lewis was the 23-year-old son of Alabama sharecroppers and already a veteran of the civil rights movement when he came to the capital 50 years ago this month to deliver a fiery call for justice on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Mr. Lewis’s urgent cry — ‘We want our freedom, and we want it now!’ — was eclipsed on the steps that day by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. But two years later, after Alabama State Police officers beat him and fractured his skull while he led a march in Selma, he was back in Washington to witness President Lyndon B. Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
– “Today Mr. Lewis is a congressman from Georgia and the sole surviving speaker from the March on Washington in August 1963. His history makes him the closest thing to a moral voice in the divided Congress. At 73, he is still battling a half-century later. With the Voting Rights Act in jeopardy now that the Supreme Court has invalidated one of its central provisions, Mr. Lewis, a Democrat, is fighting an uphill battle to reauthorize it. He is using his stature as a civil rights icon to prod colleagues like the Republican leader, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, to get on board. He has also met with the mother of Trayvon Martin and compared his shooting to the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till.
– “Mr. Lewis has an answer for those who say the election of a black president was a fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream: It was only ‘a down payment,’ he said in an interview.” http://nyti.ms/19g61g4
BOOKER CRUISES TO VICTORY IN N.J. SENATE PRIMARY – Matt Friedman and David Giambusso have the story for The (Newark) Star-Ledger: “For two months, polls showed Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker and conservative Republican activist Steve Lonegan with seemingly unbeatable leads in their party’s primaries for U.S. Senate. They were right. Booker and Lonegan romped to victory tonight after brief campaigns in which they virtually ignored their opponents. The rare August election took place on a rainy day, during which a small fraction of those eligible turned up to cast their votes. ‘There are those and others who deride the vision that brought us all here together. They dismiss the idea that we can come together,’ Booker told supporters outside the Prudential Center in Newark. ‘They said that I — they say that we — are being naïve. To them I say, have you ever met us? … This is Newark, New Jersey, and we don’t do naïve.’
– “The results set up a battle between the celebrity Newark mayor and the strong-willed former Bogota mayor — whose outsized personalities inspired documentary movies about them — in a special Oct. 16 general election to succeed the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.” http://bit.ly/14KjGuD Watch Booker’s speech here: http://bit.ly/13Yjs3l
WILL LABRADOR ANNOUNCE RUN FOR GOVERNOR TODAY? – Robert Ehlert reports for the Idaho Statesman: “Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said this afternoon he will announce his future political plans during a press conference Wednesday though he gave no indication of the exact time or location. The two-term congressman from Idaho’s First District made the announcement during an Idaho Statesman Editorial Board meeting after he was asked if he would be running for Governor of Idaho. There has been speculation for months that Labrador would be among the challengers to unseat Gov. Butch Otter, who has announced his intention to run for re-election in 2014. Labrador entertained questions from the Editorial Board for nearly 90 minutes but declined to provide clues about what his political decision would be. He appeared at the meeting and introduced several new staff members — hired in the past few months — a sign, perhaps, that he was shoring up his official staff so he could begin paying more attention to something else.” http://bit.ly/13TRnu2
RUBIO’S NEW IMMIGRATION PITCH – Anna Palmer and Burgess Everett report for the hometown paper: “Marco Rubio’s back in the ring on immigration reform and he’s got a new move: Congress needs to fix the problem — or Barack Obama will. The line is meant to touch a nerve with conservatives who might dislike the idea of immigration reform, but loathe the idea of Obama taking on any major issue on his own — let alone immigration. Rubio’s goal is to re-ignite momentum behind a reform package that fizzled this summer in the House, where most Republicans have balked at the idea of a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers. The fierce House ‘no’ caucus argues its base doesn’t want immigration reform and passing it would just hand Obama a gift — and the Democratic Party millions of new voters. But if Rubio has a shot at building the urgency needed to convert enough Republicans to pass a comprehensive bill, the end of the August recess could be his best bet, since it’s a time when the news cycle is slow and lawmakers can be pressured before heading back to Washington in September.” http://politi.co/13XoblV
BLOODSHED IN EGYPT – The Wall Street Journal’s Maria Abi-Habib and Leila Elmergawi report from Cairo: “Egyptian troops staged a crackdown on protesters that turned deadly Wednesday morning in efforts to clear two antigovernment sit-ins in Cairo, a development that observers worry could plunge the already divided country further into uncontrollable violence. Ten civilians died and 98 were injured as two squares in the capital were stormed, according to Mohammed Soltan, head of the ambulance authority at the Ministry of Health. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the field hospitals the Brotherhood has set up in the two squares have recorded more than 300 deaths. The Egyptian Interior ministry said one police officer died and nine were injured by gunshots that were fired to disperse the sit-ins.” http://on.wsj.com/1a3xog2
McCONNELL: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WON’T STOP OBAMACARE – Tanner Hesterberg reports for WYMT-TV in Corbin, Ky.: “A government shutdown would not prevent the Affordable Care Act from being funded, Kentucky’s senior senator said Tuesday. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to publicly take a side as some members of his party lobby for shutting down the federal government. ‘The problem is the bill that would shut down the government wouldn’t shut down Obamacare,’ McConnell said. ‘Most of it is permanent law and not affected by that. It also wouldn’t stop the taxes. Taxes that are going in on medical devices, taxes that are going in on health insurance premiums.’ McConnell, who is also the GOP leader in the Senate, spoke to a group of healthcare workers Tuesday at Baptist Health Corbin, a hospital in southern Kentucky. During the meeting, McConnell told audience members, ‘I’m for stopping Obamacare, but shutting down the government will not stop Obamacare.’” http://bit.ly/1cAN24t
– But WaPo blogger Greg Sargent argues that McConnell actually isn’t taking sides in the shutdown debate happening in the GOP: http://wapo.st/19goysp
WHY MADISON PROJECT ENDORSED BEVIN OVER McCONNELL – In a USA Today op-ed, former GOP Rep. Jim Ryun explains why his PAC is backing insurgent Republicans Matt Bevin and Art Halvorson over incumbents Mitch McConnell and Bill Shuster: “If we want to win legislative battles, we have to win electoral wars first. Many of those start in primaries against establishment Republicans who have either become complicit in the endless expansion of the federal government or feckless in stopping its aggressive champions. Over the past year, my political action committee, The Madison Project has had the opportunity to help recruit a number of conservatives who understand the gravity of our public policy problems and are willing to fight for solutions that will fundamentally restore our constitutional republic. They are committed to promoting a new standard in Washington – one in which principled leaders actually fight and win battles for conservatives. They will do whatever it takes to shrink the size of government – including filibusters against harmful legislation in the Senate or voting against rules to consider bad legislation backed by GOP leadership in the House.” http://usat.ly/1cxoARx
JACKSONS TO PUSH FOR LIGHTER SENTENCE TODAY – Natasha Korecki and Lynn Sweet report for the Chicago Sun-Times: “Mental health issues are expected to take center stage at Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Wednesday’s sentencing hearing as his lawyers will ask a judge for leniency because the former congressman suffers from bipolar disorder. Portions of court filings made public on Tuesday reveal U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson (no relation) has already reviewed multiple documents involving Jackson’s health issues as well as difficulties the family has faced in recent years. Attorneys for the Jacksons had asked that some of the documents not be made public. But prosecutors argued that the public’s right to know only increases if the Jacksons are to make health reasons a central factor to ask for a break in sentencing.” http://bit.ly/1btzEva
KLOBUCHAR REACTS TO DOJ CHALLENGE TO AIRLINES MERGER – Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who sits on both the Judiciary and Commerce, Transportation and Science committees, sent along this statement: “Whether it’s a family looking for affordable flights or a small business-owner looking for the best frequent flier program, we need to make sure consumers have as many choices as possible at the lowest prices and that no airline or small group of airlines has a stranglehold on the market. As chair of the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee I held a hearing to examine this merger’s potential impact on fares, fees, jobs, service and safety. At the hearing there were serious issues raised about the effect of the merger on prices in particular markets, and the Justice Department’s complaint reflects those concerns.”
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GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, August 14, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.
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TODAY IN CONGRESS – Both the House and Senate have adjourned for the summer recess.
SAN DIEGO HOOTERS BAN FILNER – Matt Smith and Kyung Lah report for CNN: “How bad has it gotten for embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner? Even Hooters — the restaurant chain sometimes criticized for its scantily clad waitresses — says he’s no longer welcome. The chain’s downtown location has joined a campaign by a local radio talk-show host, who’s urging businesses to post signs in their window that declare Filner persona non grata. The signs note that the mayor “will not be served in this establishment” and ‘We believe women should be treated with respect.’ In a statement posted on Twitter, the company said restaurant acted on its own. ‘Our Hooters Girls in San Diego have spoken. Not a corporate gig, but we support our girls,’ it read.” http://bit.ly/15BReax See the sign: http://bit.ly/17ncYtn
N.Y. MAYORAL DEBATE MOVES PAST WEINER – Maggie Haberman reports for POLITICO: “The Anthony Weiner Show hit prime time Tuesday night. The lather-rinse-repeat act of asking the former congressman and current New York City Democratic mayoral hopeful about his sexting scandal and his regrets took place on a stage and over broadcast TV with his four rivals in the first televised debate of the primary campaign. But for the first time, Weiner, currently polling in fourth place in the latest public survey in the race, didn’t suck up all the oxygen in the room. In fact, three of Weiner’s rivals seemed content to ignore him and the scandal that has dominated headlines for weeks. Only City Council Speaker Christine Quinn engaged Weiner repeatedly, invoking his scandal to say he has no standing to lecture his opponents. But for the most part, the first debate in a campaign that’s been characterized by the salacious was largely a snooze. Save for Weiner revealing during a lightning round at the end that “after midnight” he plays ice hockey, there was very little new ground covered for the former Queens congressman.” http://politi.co/16JDVYg
– A Hillary Clinton spokesman said he had no idea what Weiner was talking about when he said he knew what role his wife, Huma Abedin, would play in a Clinton 2016 presidential run. Weiner says his comments were all a joke. http://politi.co/16JGwRX
STUDY: TWEETS CAN PREDICT ELECTIONS – Alex Roarty writes for National Journal: “Who needs polls? A study published Monday reports that campaigns could use Twitter to successfully predict the winner of most races, findings that might bolster the social media service’s already robust political presence. The key measure, researchers from Indiana University found, was a candidate’s ‘tweet share,’ the percentage of total tweets about a race that mention them. The more often a candidate is mentioned on Twitter relative to their opponent, the study reported, the greater their chance for victory. The findings were comprehensive: An analysis of tweets from the 2010 midterm elections found the data correctly predicted the winner in 404 of the 406 House races. ‘We plotted it and thought, ‘Holy moly, it was a very strong correlation,’ ‘ said Fabio Rojas, a sociology professor at Indiana and one of the study’s coauthors. He added that preliminary analysis of last year’s congressional elections show similar results.” http://bit.ly/16MUkx1
GOP WANTS SOME OF LERNER’S PERSONAL EMAILS – Josh Hicks reports for WaPo: “House Republicans opened a new front Tuesday in their examination of the IRS targeting issue, demanding all work-related e-mails from the personal account of agency official Lois Lerner. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requested the communications in a letter to Lerner, who was placed on administrative leave in May after an inspector general’s report revealed that the agency had screened groups for extra scrutiny based on their political ideology. The congressman said investigators had discovered that Lerner sent documents relating to her official duties to a personal e-mail account labeled ‘Lois Home.’ ‘This raises some serious questions concerning your use of a non-official e-mail account to conduct official business,’ the letter said.” http://wapo.st/1a3TEXk
YUCCA DECISION DEALS SMALL SETBACK FOR REID – Niels Lesniewski reports for Roll Call: “The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion Tuesday that’s a bit of a setback to Majority Leader Harry Reid’s ongoing efforts to ensure that Yucca Mountain never becomes a nuclear waste repository. The opinion noted, however, that Congress could very well continue to use the power of the purse to deny funding for the project in the Democratic senator’s home state of Nevada. Reid has long used his clout as majority leader to ensure that federal money isn’t appropriated for the project. In a split decision, a three judge panel of the Court of Appeals held that the law requires that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission comply with a law requiring the agency to consider a permit application for storage of nuclear waste at the site.” http://bit.ly/16NDmi6
TUESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Tom Flanagin was first to correctly answer that in the film “Advise and Consent,” Henry Fonda played a Secretary of State nominee whose nomination was tainted because of his alleged past history with communism.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Rachel Gorlin has a follow-up question: Which star of a 1980s Emmy-award winning sitcom plays a U.S. senator from Kansas in Otto Preminger’s 1962 film “Advise and Consent”? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
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The verdict authorizes the military, which seized power over the summer in a violent coup d’etat against President Mohammed Morsi, t
