By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
A CRITICAL WEEK AHEAD: WHITE HOUSE BLITZES CAPITOL HILL, TV ON SYRIA – President Obama’s last best hope for Congress to authorize a military strike on Syria could lie with his own party, write POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown and Jonathan Allen: “With remarkably little to show for a week of intensive lobbying, the last bit of leverage that Democrats expect the White House to use is this: Barack Obama’s presidency depends on it. This isn’t what Americans will hear when Obama addresses the nation Tuesday night. Publicly, the argument is all about the evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons and the ramifications if the United States doesn’t retaliate. Senior White House officials are loath to make it a referendum on Obama, saying they remain confident that he can win by sticking to the merits of the case. ‘Politics is somebody else’s concern,’ White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said on “Fox News Sunday.” … ‘The president is interested in making sure that our national security is protected. That’s the question, first and foremost, for us.’
– “Proof and peril of the chemical weapons attack haven’t convinced Congress — at least not yet — and the politics point to defeat. So Obama’s last best hope is to convince conflicted Democrats, even if it’s just implicit in private conversations, that they can’t be the ones who cripple his presidency and his ability to deliver the party’s priorities, according to Democrats on Capitol Hill and close to the White House. But the grim reality for Obama is that his reservoir of personal capital on Capitol Hill is running dry. House Democrats are also well aware that former colleagues who lost their seats after taking tough votes for Obama — the stimulus and Obamacare among them — haven’t been taken care of by the White House. For every former Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), who landed an assistant secretary job at the Homeland Security Department after losing reelection in 2010, there are dozens of Democrats whose loyalty was unrequited.” http://politi.co/1e7YpBQ
– @jonathanweisman: House leadership will meet with WH COS McDonough on Monday at 1:45 to plot a way to 218.
WHERE THEY STAND – A number of news outlets have compiled whip counts on where lawmakers line up on the question of striking Syria. Here’s the latest from the NYT’s interactive feature, including statements from each member: Senate: 25 support, 18 against, 57 undecided. House: 39 support, 154 against, 213 undecided, 27 unknown. http://nyti.ms/15Ce8G2
ASSAD TELLS CHARLIE ROSE: ‘EXPECT’ RETALIATION – CBS News reports: “President Bashar Assad warned Sunday that if President Obama decides to launch military strikes on Syria, the U.S. and its allies should ‘expect every action’ in retaliation. ‘You should expect everything. Not necessarily from the government,’ Assad told ‘CBS This Morning’ co-host Charlie Rose in his first television interview since Mr. Obama sought congressional approval for military action. In a clear reference to his allies in Iran and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, Assad warned that his government is ‘not the only player in this region.’ ‘You have different parties, you have different factions, you have different ideology. You have everything in this region now,’ said Assad, who has been accused by the White House of killing 1,400 of his own people in an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburbs.
– “Asked by Rose whether any retaliation for U.S. strikes could include the use of chemical weapons, Assad — whose government has never confirmed officially that it even has chemical weapons — said it would depend ‘if the rebels or the terrorists in this region or any other group have it. It could happen, I don’t know. I am not fortune teller.’ Rose said Sunday on the ‘CBS Evening News’ that the Syrian dictator was ‘remarkably calm’ during the interview as he addressed the claims that he had gassed his own people.” http://cbsn.ws/17kczJJ
OBAMA MAKES PITCH TO SENATORS – POLITICO’s John Bresnahan reports: “President Barack Obama will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to help sell his plan for U.S. military strikes on Syria, just hours before a scheduled national address from the Oval Office. Obama will meet with Senate Democrats as he tries to overcome skepticism — or outright opposition — from members of his own party as the Senate prepares to hold critical votes on the Syria use-of-force resolution. Right now, there are serious concerns among top Senate Democrats about whether they can pass the Syria resolution approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is likely to win a cloture vote on Wednesday, but it is unclear if the Senate will approve the resolution on a final vote after that, Senate insiders says. [The first Syria vote comes on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.]
– “Vice President Joe Biden met with a number of Senate Republicans on Sunday night as part of the White House’s “all-hands” effort to pass the resolution. Obama unexpectedly joined the dinner, according to White House media pool reports. GOP Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Dan Coats (Ind.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Deb Fischer (Neb.) were all in attendance.
– National Security Adviser Susan Rice will meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday at the White House. Rice will be joined by Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey will brief all 433 House members on Monday afternoon. Obama will also be sitting down for six TV interviews on Monday as part of the White House public-relations blitz.” http://politi.co/1cYkOxs
OBAMA GOES PRIME TIME – Our own Josh Gerstein has more on Obama’s address, set for 9 p.m. Tuesday: “During his nearly five years in office, Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid high-stakes, nighttime White House speeches. His advisers have repeatedly denigrated the value of Oval Office addresses, accusing promoters of such talks as being out of touch with modern media realities. Now the president is preparing to deliver precisely such a high-profile address Tuesday night, giving in to pressure from lawmakers demanding a no-holds-barred White House effort to sell the public on the wisdom of a military response to Syria’s alleged chemical weapons use. And so a president who surged into the White House in no small part on the strength of his communication skills will need to turn in a particularly effective performance in a format that’s never been among his most favored. …
– “If Obama does turn to the Oval Office for Tuesday night’s speech — and officials so far have said only that he will speak from somewhere in the White House — it will be a true rarity. As president, he has delivered only two addresses to the nation from his office, both in 2010: a speech about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and another about the end of combat in Iraq. ‘I personally have never loved the Oval,’ [former speechwriter Jon] Favreau added. ‘But I actually think it’s pretty right for this one.’” http://politi.co/18OFT96
MOVEON LAUNCHES SYRIA AD – MoveOn.org Political Action is out this morning with a 30-second TV ad urging Congress to reject authorizing action against Syria. The ad, called “Not Again,” runs this week on MSNBC with heavy rotation around the president’s address Tuesday night. Watch it here: http://youtu.be/_TVseYyddhc
HAWKISH GOP NOW DOVISH ON SYRIA – “Of all the unexpected turns in the Syria debate, one stands out most: The GOP, the party of a muscular national defense, has gone the way of the dove,” Alex Isenstadt and James Hohmann write for the hometown paper. “A decade after leading the country into Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans have little appetite or energy for a strike aimed at punishing Bashar Assad for allegedly gassing his own people. To the contrary, many of the party’s lawmakers are lining up to sink President Barack Obama’s war authorization vote. Of the 279 Republicans currently in the House and Senate, 83 were also serving in October 2002. All of them voted to give George W. Bush authorization to invade Iraq. Now, just 10 of those 83 have come out in support of striking Syria. Most of the others have expressed serious reservations or are leaning against voting for the authorization.” http://politi.co/18Ik38F
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation: Registration has opened for “The Reagan National Defense Forum: Building Peace Through Strength Through 2025.” Speakers include Secretary Chuck Hagel, General Martin Dempsey, Secretary John McHugh, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, SASC Chairman Carl Levin and HASC Chairman “Buck” McKeon.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING, September 9, 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 – The Senate meets at 2 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. votes on the nominations of Valerie E. Caproni and Vernon S. Broderick to be United States District Judges for the Southern District of New York. The House is also in at 2 p.m. with votes expected about 6:30 p.m. on the Global Investment in American Jobs Act and the Federal Communications Commission Consolidation Reporting Act.
AROUND THE HILL – A stakeout has been approved for a closed Joint House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees briefing on Syria at 3 p.m. in HVC 210. A closed all House member briefing on Syria will be held at 5 p.m. in the CVC Auditorium.
In Memphis today, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp make their fourth stop on their national tax reform tour. At 8 a.m. local time, they hold a kitchen table conversation at the Sullivan Family Farm, then tour the FedEx Express World Hub and hold a roundtable discussion with the company and customers from the small business community.
CORY BOOKER: THE DEMS’ MARCO RUBIO? – POLITICO’s Manu Raju caught up with the Senate Democratic nominee in Newark, N.J.: “Ambitious and Ivy League-educated, he’s a young African-American Democrat calling for a new era of post-partisanship in Washington. Sound familiar? But Cory Booker — who would be just the fourth popularly elected black senator if he wins — says he ‘would never want to be the next Barack Obama’ … The 44-year-old Newark mayor doesn’t want to follow in Obama’s footsteps — at least that’s what he claims. But as he appears poised to become the next New Jersey senator in the Oct. 16 special election, the two-term mayor may end up voting well to the left of the president — and become the biggest Democratic celebrity in town.
– “In a wide-ranging interview here, Booker said he’s opposed to trimming benefits on entitlement programs, even as the president has considered doing so as part of deficit talks. He said the bad actors from the 2008 financial crisis should ‘absolutely’ go to jail, even as the administration has yet to put shackles on top Wall Street executives. Booker ‘absolutely’ supports medical marijuana, even as the president is reluctant about legalizing it. And Booker added that he’s deeply skeptical about military engagement in Syria, even as Obama calls for strikes against the Bashar Assad regime. …
– “In some ways, Booker may end up being the Democrats’ version of Marco Rubio: an attractive, eloquent and press-savvy pol whose core beliefs are firmly in line with his base — but who may break from his party from time to time. While Booker’s style has irked some Democrats, he has only sparingly broken with the left , like on school vouchers and education reform. Asked to identify the issues in which he splits from his party in Washington, Booker couldn’t do it. ‘In some ways, you’re going to have to tell me that. I know where I’m passionate, and I don’t first ask, ‘Does my party agree with this or not?’’” http://politi.co/1fPPkcg
LAWMAKERS, LOBBYISTS HOOP IT UP TONITE – The 15th annual congressional charity basketball game tips off tonight at the Smith Center at George Washington University. Congressional staffers take on lobbyists at 6 p.m., followed by the lawmakers vs. lobbyists game at 7:30 p.m. The games raise money for the Hoops for Youth Foundation, which help at-risk youth in D.C.
Rosters for Game 1: Staffers vs. Lobbyists:
Team Staff: Wes McClelland (WHIP McCarthy), Andy Keiser (Rep. Mike Rogers), Steve Perrotta (Sen. Richard Burr), Keith Stern (Rep. Jim McGovern), Erik Olson (Rep. Ron Kind), Andrew Stoddard (Rep. Ben Lujan), Stephen Martinko (Rep. Bill Shuster), Kyle Oliver (Rep. Ralph Hall), James Robertson (House Oversight and Government Reform), Dustin Huffman (RGA), Kurt Bardella (Team Issa), Ben Branch (Rep. Greg Meeks) and Todd Mitchell (Rep. Leonard Lance).
Team Lobbyists: Paul Kanitra, Langston Emerson, David Morgan, Stoney Burke, Jess Peterson, Ryan Guthrie, Ben Brubeck, Casey Dinges, Jack Kelly, Brandan Heiner, Monte Ward, Will Jawando and Brian Reardon.
Rosters for Game 2: Members vs. Lobbyists:
Members of Congress: Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. John Shimkus, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Jeff Flake, Rep. Pete Olson, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Jeff Denham, Rep. Rick Larsen, Rep. Cedric Richmond, Rep. David Valadao, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Rep. Joe Crowley, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, Rep. Jared Huffman and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Team Lobbyists: Jim Martin (60 Plus Assn.), Paul Miller (Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies), Brian Pallasch (ASCE), Dan Cohen, Booth Jameson (American Chemistry Council), Brad Knox (AFLAC), Paxton Baker (BET Network), Brian Wagner (ATK), Danny Leonard (Open Market Energy), Michael Monroe (AFL-CIO), Kenny Hulshof (Posinelli Shughart), Nelson Perez (nationalgrid), Brad Schweer (CenturyLink) and Jim Brewer (Int’l Union of Painters & Allied Trades). Cloture Club has a flier with more info here: http://bit.ly/1cY5WPG
POLL: MOST HILL STAFFERS HAPPY DESPITE WORK ISSUES – Josh Hicks writes for the Washington Post: “Congressional employees are generally happy with their jobs, despite relatively poor pay, unpredictable hours and low public regard for their bosses, according to a report scheduled for release Monday. The Congressional Management Foundation, a nonpartisan group dedicated to improving legislative operations, found in a survey that 80 percent of Capitol Hill staffers are satisfied with their jobs. More than 1,400 employees rated the issues that mattered most to them as well as their level of contentment. Among the positive findings, 97 percent of respondents said they were confident that they can meet their work goals, and 83 percent said they enjoy taking on assignments beyond their normal duties. Although they said they were generally happy with their work, staffers also said they also faced frustrations.” http://wapo.st/183upnf
NYT, A1, “Immigration Reform Falls to the Back of the Line,” By Michael D. Shear and Julia Preston: “Congress is likely to postpone consideration of an immigration overhaul until the end of the year, if not longer, even as advocates are preparing for an all-out, urgent push this fall to win their longstanding goal of a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants here illegally. In Washington, the sudden debate over military action in Syria and a looming face-off with President Obama over the budget and the nation’s borrowing limit have shot to the top of the legislative agenda, while Republican angst about losing Hispanic voters in the 2012 presidential campaign has faded. In the House, where many Republicans view an overhaul bill passed by the Senate as a federal juggernaut that is too kind to immigrant lawbreakers, the legislative summer recess has done little to stoke enthusiasm for immediate action. Senior Republican aides in the House say immigration is at the back of the line, and unlikely to come up for months. The prospect of a delay is generating frustration among supporters of the legislation, who felt emboldened by a summer in which conservative opposition in House districts largely fizzled and immigrant groups seized the chance to lobby lawmakers on their home turf. “ http://nyti.ms/14xTFB8
– A bill to combat sexual assaults in the military also has taken a back seat to Syria, POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn writes: http://politi.co/13zMbLk
AT AFL-CIO MEETING, WARREN RIPS INTO SUPREME COURT – Alex Burns reports from Los Angeles: “Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka denounced the United States Supreme Court on Sunday as a right-wing panel that serves the interests of corporate America, previewing a theme that is likely to rise in prominence with the approach of the 2016 election. On the opening day of the AFL-CIO’s convention, Warren – the highest-profile national Democrat to address the gathering here – warned attendees of a ‘corporate capture of the federal courts.’ In a speech that voiced a range of widely held frustrations on the left, Warren assailed the Court as an instrument of the wealthy that regularly sides with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She cited an academic study that called the current Supreme Court’s five conservative-leaning justices among the ‘top 10 most pro-corporate justices in half a century.’ ‘You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of big business,’ Warren said, drawing murmurs from the crowd.” http://politi.co/18H66aW
BUSCHON MOURNS 32-YEAR-OLD STAFFER – Kenny Douglass reports for News14 in Evansville, Ind.: “A high ranking member of Congressman Larry Bucshon’s staff was found dead in an Evansville hotel room. Although he held numerous positions on Bucshon’s staff, 32-year-old Steven Reeves served most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff and District Director, based out of the Congressman’s Evansville District Office. Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves says Reeves was found Wednesday in a room at the Fairfield Inn on Evansville’s east side. She says it appears Reeves died of natural causes. He was originally from Princeton. On Thursday night, Bucshon released a statement, calling Reeves a valued colleague and loyal friend, and a member of the family. … ‘Steven was truly a member of our family and will be greatly missed. Motivated by a genuine compassion for others, he worked to help eradicate AIDS in Africa before serving the 8th District in our office. He spent much of his life dedicated to serving his country, bettering his community, and improving the lives of others. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends through this difficult and private time.’” http://bit.ly/19ogdCt
FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Jeff Pudlo was first to correctly answer that President John F. Kennedy reportedly explored purchasing the Philadelphia Eagles until the Cuban missile crisis delayed a meeting between team owners and his brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Pudlo, who works for a D.C.-based advocacy nonprofit, says he found the answer in a 1991 article from the Newport News Daily Press reviewing a then recently published book, “The Pro Football Chronicle”. http://bit.ly/16eeWOT The story also appears in the Eagles Encyclopedia here: http://bit.ly/14F6HaJ
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Claude Marx has today’s question: What solicitor general had to resign his post when his father became chief justice of the U.S.? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library: The Reagan National Defense Forum on November 16, 2013 is bringing together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community – including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry – to address the health of our national defense and to stimulate a discussion that promotes policies that strengthen the United States military into the future. Registrations is $ 499 per person. For more information and tickets, please visit www.ReaganFoundation.org/Defense.
The program includes a keynote address by General Dempsey, remarks by Secretary Hagel, and multiple panels including “Counterterrorism in 2025,” “Congress, Industry and the Pentagon” and “The Industrial Base After a Decade of War.”
“My husband would be so pleased to know that his ‘Peace Through Strength’ policies are being discussed again with a focus on today’s new technology and tomorrow’s needs.” – Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
W.H. BLITZES CAPITOL HILL, TV ON SYRIA – Assad: "Expect" retaliation – HAWKISH GOP NOW DOVISH – Booker the Dems" Marco Rubio? – Congressional basketball game tonite!
