By Ginger Gibson (ggibson@politico.com or @GingerGibson)
ON THE ROAD WITH RAND PAUL – POLITICO’s Katie Glueck spent time in Texas with Sen. Rand Paul: “It’s 7 a.m. on a Saturday, Rand Paul is exhausted and airport security has just confiscated his morning joe. “The TSA took away my coffee,” the libertarian-leaning senator, Houston-bound for a day of events with GOP activists, complains of the federal agency he’s proposed abolishing. “I offered to drink it to show it wasn’t a bomb.”
“The Kentucky Republican has many more sleep-deprived moments in store as he prepares for a near-certain 2016 presidential bid. On an early February political swing through his native Texas, where Paul was joined by a POLITICO reporter, the contradictions and challenges that would define such a run were on vivid display — as was Paul’s belief that his blend of libertarian-infused conservatism could forge an entirely new path to the White House.
“In an extensive in-flight interview, the first-term senator outlined his vision for a more inclusive GOP — only to meet a frosty response hours later when he spoke favorably about immigration to a roomful of people enamored of the tea party’s luminary of the moment, Sen. Ted Cruz.” http://politi.co/1eLOufh
DEMOCRATS, OBAMACARE AND 2014 – POLITICO’s James Hohmann writes: “Democrats know their biggest problem in this year’s midterm election is Obamacare. So top party operatives have settled on a strategy to try blunting the GOP’s advantage: Tell voters Republicans would make the problem worse — raising prescription drug prices, empowering insurance companies and even endangering domestic violence victims.
“The battle plan, details of which were in a memo obtained by POLITICO, recognizes the unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act. But it also banks on voter fatigue with the GOP’s relentless demands for repeal and counts on poll-backed data that show many Americans would rather fix Obamacare’s problems than scrap it altogether.” http://politi.co/1bZ8lYB
– The New York Times’ Ashley Parker looks at some examples: “The ad supporting Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, Democrat of Arizona, opens with a montage of Americana Main Streets, followed by the green fields and dirt roads of the West — the “small towns and wide-open spaces,” the narrator explains, where Ms. Kirkpatrick “listens and learns.”
“His voice remains tranquil even as he turns to a more cutting message about President Obama’s signature health care law: “It’s why she blew the whistle on the disastrous health care website, calling it ‘stunning ineptitude’ and worked to fix it,” he says, before adding, “Ann Kirkpatrick: Seeing what’s wrong, doing what’s right.”
“As Democrats approach the 2014 midterm elections, they are grappling with an awkward reality: Their president’s health care law — passed with no Republican votes — remains a political liability in many states, threatening their ability to hold on to seats in the Senate and the House.” http://nyti.ms/1oJ7vrA
– FLASHBACK: Headline from June 2013 “Democrats 2014 strategy: Own Obamacare” http://politi.co/1gcUFM6
– REPUBLICAN MEGA-DONORS ORGANIZE COUNCIL HEAD OF MIDTERMS: http://politi.co/1fv8Zhn
– NRSC raised $ 4.62 million in January: http://politi.co/1gQpVCe
DOUTH PROTEST TOO MUCH? Rep. Issa was in New Hampshire this weekend – The New Hampshire Union Leader’s Doug Alden reports: “California Republican Darrell Issa opened his speech at Monday night’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner saying he was not there as a candidate.
“I came here to hopefully shape the debate for 2016 — not join it — but shape it,” the congressman told the audience, which filled a banquet room at the Grappone Center. “I did so in part because over the last five years, I’ve had the distinction and dubious honor of overseeing an administration that doesn’t do the fundamentals of government well — but wants to grow government and expand it in new areas.” http://bit.ly/1gdJFhw
– And so does National Journal’s Billy House: “Rep. Darrell Issa, the bombastic chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and prominent scourge of liberals everywhere, is in New Hampshire this week.
The 60-year-old Californian is making speeches. He published an op-ed that introduces his life story to Granite State residents. And he’s prompting the obvious question.
“He is not running for president,” said Kurt Bardella, a former Issa congressional aide whose firm, Endeavor Strategic Communications, now handles Issa’s politically related media inquiries.” http://bit.ly/1oLYdLk
CANTOR BLASTS ISOLATIONISTS – Politico Pro’s Austin Wright reports: “Make no mistake: Eric Cantor sides with the strong-on-defense wing of the GOP. In a Presidents Day at the Virginia Military Institute, the House majority leader offers a full-throated rebuke of the “isolationist sentiment” he says caused the United States to hesitate to enter World War II and again threatens to unleash global horrors. http://politi.co/1nI5msQ
DON’T DITCH PAPER YET – The Washington Post’s Lisa Rein reports on the efforts to hold on to good old fashioned paper in an increasingly digital age: “As the Obama administration pushes to do more business over the Internet, finally seeking to close the technology gap with the private sector, the digital makeover is running into a dogged opponent called Consumers for Paper Options.
“The group is working the halls of Congress in closed-door meetings, underwriting research favorable to its position and mounting a news media campaign in an effort to preserve Washington as the capital of paper — and slow the move away from printed checks, forms and other paper communication.”
“The lobbying group has had some recent victories, including language tucked into last month’s budget deal that requires the government to plan for resuming paper delivery of annual Social Security earnings statements to some of the nation’s 150 million future retirees. And it’s been claiming these wins in the name of the elderly and low-income Americans the Internet has left behind.” http://wapo.st/1e2e3so
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GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 18, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your-play-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Scott is out for the week, so send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to ggibson@politico.com. You can also heckle me on Twitter @GingerGibson.
TODAY IN CONGRESS –. The House and Senate have both recessed for the week. The House will meet in pro forma session at 2 p.m., bang the gavel and then get out.
AROUND THE HILL – All is quiet on Capitol Hill.
TRANSITIONS – After three years of wrangling over the farm bill and six years on the Hill, Cullen Schwartz is out as communications director for Sen. Debbie Stabenow. His last day is Wednesday. He heads a few blocks down the street to the USDA where he will start work as a press secretary March 10. His friends are toasting his new gig tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. at The 201 Bar on Mass Avenue.
WHAT MEMBERS WILL HEAR IN THEIR DISTRICTS – A Gallup poll out Monday found unemployment is now the top problem being cited by Americans. The numbers who cite the inability to find a job as their top problem was up 16 percent since January, with 23 percent naming unemployment as the most important problem facing the nation. Unemployment edged out unhappiness with government, politicians and Congress, which previous topped the biggest problem list in the Gallup poll. In fact, Congress and elected officials in Washington slipped to third. General concern about the economy also moved up into second place. The concerns shared bipartisan agreement, with Republicans, Democrats and independents all ranking unemployment and the economy as their top problems. Read the survey here: http://bit.ly/1eKe2cA
The months ahead for the House GOP – The Washington Post’s Robert Costa reports: “After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within the GOP and shelving any big-ticket legislation for the rest of the year.
“Comprehensive immigration reform, tax reform, tweaks to the federal health-care law — bipartisan deals on each are probably dead in the water for the rest of this Congress.” http://wapo.st/1fv8Vhu
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY STIMULUS – The stimulus would be starting Kindergarten and there is still deep disagreement over what the law meant:
From House Speaker John Boehner’s statement: “The ‘stimulus’ has turned out to be a classic case of big promises and big spending with little results. Five years and hundreds of billions of dollars later, millions of families are still asking ‘where are the jobs?’ More Americans are living at or below the poverty line.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also put out a statement: “Five years after the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we can see the difference it made in the millions of jobs created and saved and in the small businesses able to survive the economic downturn and invest again for the future.”
MCCONNELL DEFENDS DEBT VOTE – Speaking to reporters in Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defended his vote on the debt deal. Louisville TV station WHAS’s Joe Arnold reports: “Under fire from the tea party for his part in allowing a senate vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday he had to act in the best interests of the country to avoid default by the United States.
“My job is to protect the country when I can,” McConnell said at a campaign appearance in Louisville, “and to step up and lead on those occasions when it’s required. That’s what I did.” Read more and watch the video: http://bit.ly/1bZLRXs
DEBT LIMIT AND THE SENATE – The New York Times’ Carl Hulse and Jonathan Martin look at the midterm implications of the Senate debt vote: “Senators Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, two Republican leaders facing primary challenges, knew they would take an immediate political hit from the Republicans’ Tea Party wing by voting to clear the way for a debt-limit increase. They also knew that their willingness to cast that vote would enhance their party’s chances of gaining a majority in the Senate next year.
“It was not an easy exercise, but it keeps the focus on the issues we want it to be on,” said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who argued that by putting the debt limit fight behind it last week, his party had robbed Democrats of an opportunity to portray Republicans as reckless. “We dodged a bullet here.”
Democrats acknowledge that the Republican retreat on the debt issue was politically wise and represents yet another factor in the mounting concerns over their own Senate prospects. Democrats are counting on bursts of political extremism to wound Republican candidates. The move by Mr. McConnell, of Kentucky, and Mr. Cornyn, of Texas, showed that at least some Republicans have learned from past defeats.” http://nyti.ms/1bGPkj5
Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wisc.) calls for investigation into himself – After news articles looking at the Wisconsin Republican’s lobbying, Petri sent a letter to the Ethics Committee requesting they look into the matter. The Hill’s Kristina Wong reports: “In the letter to the House Ethics Committee, the congressman said he was “distressed by the innuendo” that there is a conflict between his personal financial interests and his official actions in Washington.
“To end any questions, I am requesting that the committee formally review the matter and report back,” the letter read.” http://bit.ly/1fbYX8s Read the full letter here: http://bit.ly/1gXXFfZ
Obama thumbs up “Obamacare” moniker: Attention Nancy Pelosi (who has admonished reporters for calling the ACA by any other name), but President Barack Obama once again gave his approval of the health care shorthand. Politico’s Jose Del Real reports: “It may not be polling well, but President Barack Obama isn’t too worried about the Affordable Care Act’s nickname, Obamacare, or the health care law’s impact on his legacy.
“I like it. I don’t mind,” the president told former NBA star Charles Barkley in an interview that aired Sunday about the term Obamacare. “And I tell you, five years from now, when everybody’s saying, ‘Man, I’m sure glad we got health care,’ there are going to be a whole bunch of people who don’t call it Obamacare anymore because they don’t want me to get the credit.”” http://politi.co/1gwPp8r
FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Wilfred Codrington was first to correctly answer that William Howard Taft was the president whose wife, Nellie Taft, was the main founder of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – On this day in 1885, Mark Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain spent one winter working in Washington D.C., including freelancing for several newspapers. Who was he writing for when he penned: “Congress doesn’t know anything about religion… You religious people there are too feeble, in intellect, in morality, in piety—in everything pretty much.” The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at ggibson@politico.com.
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A teenage girl got quite a souvenir on a recent trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas: a canary diamond that KWTV says is about the size of a jellybean—ie, “huge.” Fourteen-year-old Tana Clymer of Oklahoma City was digging in the park with her family last weekend…
