GOP BORROWS DEMS" IDEAS ON TAX REFORM – Obama to call for $300B transpo bill – DINGELL DYNASTY ROLLS ON – Furman, Simas to brief House Dems – trivia

CAMP PLAN: GOP BORROWS DEMS’ IDEAS ON TAX REFORM – POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt, Lauren French, Brian Faler and Kelsey Snell dive into the Camp plan: “House Republicans’ top tax writer is set to offer something unthinkable in virtually any other context: a big new tax on the wealthy. A proposal slated to be released this week by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp will include a special surcharge on the wealthy, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. The surtax and a new bank tax that lobbyists are widely expecting both sound like proposals Democrats have repeatedly offered in recent years, drawing scoffs from Republicans.

– “The Camp plan narrows tax brackets and cuts the top individual and corporate rate to 25 percent but includes a special 10 percent surtax on joint income more than $ 450,000, according to the document, confirmed by a Republican aide. The wealthiest individuals now face a top tax rate of about 40 percent, while the top corporate rate is about 35 percent to make the difficult math behind any reform work, and it would have the added political bonus of allowing him to claim that he’s extending an olive branch to Democrats. … The Michigan Republican is expected to release his long-awaited plan Wednesday.

– “Rumors have swirled in recent days on K Street that big banks and insurers will face a special surcharge, likely 3.5 percent basis points on financial firms with more than $ 500 billion in assets. These two ideas are reminiscent of the administration’s proposed ‘Buffett rule’ on millionaires as well as a proposed bank tax proposed by President Barack Obama in recent years.” http://politi.co/1cmnW4C

– BUT SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL promptly declared that there’s no hope for tax reform this election year. AP: http://strib.mn/MtiINp

– Camp outlined and defended his plan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today: “The tax code changes in my plan are not intended as a means of raising revenue. If loopholes are closed, Americans should get the benefit by way of lower rates. Tax reform needs to be about strengthening the economy and making the code simpler and fairer. That’s what Republican President Ronald Reagan did when he worked with Democrats in Congress in 1986. We need to get to work and repeat that success.” http://on.wsj.com/1ho9kpD

** Republicans and Democrats finally agree! Congress has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. But not if Congress gives up before the March 31 deadline. SGR is the problem; H.R. 4015 and S. 2000 are the solution. FixMedicareNow.org

RUNNING TALLY: About 4 million people have signed up for health coverage under the Obamacare exchanges since Oct. 4, up from 3.3 million at the end of January. POLITICO’s Susan Levine: http://politi.co/1pslhis

PRESIDENT OBAMA, visiting St. Paul, Minn., later today, will call for a four-year, $ 302 billion transportation bill to replace the law that expires at the end of September. Our own Kathryn Wolfe writes: “The White House didn’t say whether Obama will offer a full reauthorization proposal — for the first time in his presidency — or simply a “vision.” But he has been clear recently that he wants to use money from overhauling corporate taxes to make up for chronic shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund’s gasoline tax revenues.” http://politi.co/1frujth

HILL REPORTER MATT LASLO has got something brewin’. He emails Huddle: “We’re hoping to change Washington one sip at a time …”  http://billsandbrews.com/

CRUZ GOES AFTER GOP ‘PARTY BOSSES’ … AGAIN – POLITICO’s Manu Raju reports: “Ted Cruz is at it again. Cruz said last fall he wouldn’t raise money for a controversial group attacking fellow Republicans. But the Texas senator has since written a fundraising missive for another conservative group that’s backing the primary challengers to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others. This time, the tea party freshman has helped the lower-profile Madison Project, a political action committee working to defeat McConnell and Sens. Pat Roberts of Kansas and Thad Cochran of Mississippi — and prop up other primary challengers in 2014 midterm races. In the mailer, Cruz asks donors to ‘pull out all the stops’ to elect ‘solid, principled, conservative fighters’ who will ‘not answer to the party bosses in Washington, D.C.’” http://politi.co/1psiLsD

– Meet Amanda Carpenter, Ted Cruz’s Twitter torrent. Roll Call’s Humberto Sanchez: http://bit.ly/1fruswX

CLINTON STUMPS FOR GRIMES – New York Times, A16, “Ex-President Ventures Where Some Might Not,” By Jonathan Martin in Louisville, Ky.: “When Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s Democratic Senate candidate, welcomed former President Bill Clinton to a fund-raiser here Tuesday, she offered a rendering of recent political history suited for red-state Democrats: Mr. Clinton’s tenure was showered with praise, former President George W. Bush was mildly scorned, and President Obama was implicitly rebuked. ‘We all know what the problem is: it’s a Washington, D.C., that just doesn’t understand Kentucky,’ Ms. Grimes said. Her gibes at the capital’s ‘dysfunction’ were chiefly aimed at her likely opponent, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, but her nostalgia for the 1990s, when Ms. Grimes was in her teens, and her lament about the present was also aimed at linking herself to Mr. Clinton and distancing herself from Mr. Obama.” http://nyti.ms/OC1L5u

DINGELL HAT TRICK: DEBBIE’S IN – Anna Palmer and Scott Wong report for the hometown paper, with an assist from Seung Min Kim: “The Dingell dynasty dates back to the era of FDR and there’s very little that can stop it from rolling on. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) announced Monday he’s leaving the seat he took over from his father nearly six decades ago. And now his wife, Debbie Dingell, on Friday is planning to announce in the 12th District her candidacy for the open seat, according to a source close to Dingell. Debbie Dingell wasted no time putting together a campaign apparatus, holding a conference call Monday night with her husband’s former aides. She also may sever ties with the American Automotive Policy Council, where she has led the manufacturing arm of the Big Three-backed trade group, according to a source familiar with the situation.

– “Debbie Dingell has huge advantages over nearly any challenger: She will be able to tap into the powerful Dingell machine, her husband’s campaign coffers and a vast network of political operatives and donors. And she’s already got the support of powerful Wolverine State figures like retiring Sen. Carl Levin. …Political observers in Michigan and Washington say she’d be the favorite to win the seat that’s been continuously held by John D. Dingell Sr. and John D. Dingell Jr. since 1933, the year Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the White House.” http://politi.co/1jzIdZu

NANCY PELOSI AND HOUSE DEMOCRATS today will formally launch a discharge petition to raise the minimum wage to $ 10.10 per hour, Seung Min Kim reports: http://politi.co/NwJ9Th

– This morning at the Capitol, two top White House officials – Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and David Simas, deputy senior advisor for communications and strategy, will brief House Democratic members on the importance of raising the minimum wage to $ 10.10 an hour, a Democratic aide emails Huddle.

– But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid delayed a vote on hiking the minimum wage until March or April, citing scheduling conflicts and GOP obstruction, CBS’s Rebecca Kaplan reports: http://cbsn.ws/1hogTNg

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEB. 26, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include @LisaMarieBoothe and @tellittoal.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. and at 11:30 a.m. will continue work on the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014. Votes are possible but are not currently scheduled

The House is in at 10 a.m. with first votes expected between 2 and 3 p.m. and last votes expected between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on the Taxpayer Transparency Act and the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act. The House will also begin consideration of the All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act.

AROUND THE HILL – House Democrats huddle at 9 a.m. in HVC-215, though no media availability is planned. Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference media availability at 10 a.m. in HC-8. Sen. Bob Menendez and other Foreign Relations Committee members meet with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague at 10:30 a.m. in S-116. Sen. Barbara Boxer speaks on the health effects of tar sands and Keystone XL Pipeline at 10:30 a.m. in Dirksen 406. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Donna Edwards, and others participate in a discussion hosted by the National Partnership for Women & Families at 11 a.m. in SVC 212-10.

Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick speaks on executive branch authority at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle. Sens. Chuck Schumer, Chris Murphy, Debbie Stabenow, Barbara Boxer and Sheldon Whitehouse discuss benefits of health care reform at 11:30 a.m. in S-120. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp unveils his tax reform plan at 1:30 p.m. in HVC Studio A. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and others speak on the minimum wage increase at 2 p.m. in HVC-215. On Thursday morning, Sen. Bob Corker speaks at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel.

CORRECTION: Yesterday’s “Around the Hill” section incorrectly identified the congressman hosting a reception for First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones. Rep. Morgan Griffith and the Congressional Friends of Wales Caucus actually hosted.

PLENTY OF ISSUES, NO BREAKTHROUGHS – Speaker Boehner and President Obama had their first one-on-one meeting in more than a year, the AP’s Jim Kuhnhenn reports: “Disentangled from showdowns or looming crises, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner held a rare one-on-one Oval Office meeting Tuesday addressing potential areas of common ground that could lay a foundation for more ambitious goals like immigration and trade that remain long shots for action this year. … Yet the one-hour session unfolded in an atmosphere in which both sides could benefit from modest bipartisan accomplishments. In addition to trade and immigration, aides said the speaker and Obama also discussed manufacturing, flood insurance, Obama’s health care law, upcoming spending bills, California drought relief, wildfire suppression and a highway construction bill.” http://bit.ly/1o5yL06

GOP ON ARIZONA GAY BILL: MAKE IT GO AWAY – James Hohmann and Burgess Everett report for POLITICO: “As Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer weighs whether to sign a bill that would allow businesses to deny services to gay customers, top national Republicans just want the issue to go away. Proponents of the legislation — which Brewer has until Saturday to sign or veto and is reportedly leaning against — say the bill is designed to protect religious liberty. But many Washington Republicans see it as a political loser, giving the left another cudgel to attack conservatives as intolerant while motivating liberals and younger voters ahead of the midterm elections. It also threatens to widen the chasm between social conservatives and GOP operatives, who have become increasingly public in their support for gay marriage. … ‘I hope she moves quickly,’ [GOP Arizona Sen. Jeff] Flake said. ‘I just don’t see any reason to wait.’” http://politi.co/N29gS5

GOP’S ANSWER TO ‘WAR ON WOMEN’ CHARGE – The New York Times’ Ashley Parker in Tucson, Ariz.: “In Ms. [Martha] McSally, Republicans believe they have found what they hope is the human solution to their gender gap: A woman warrior to help them combat what Democrats have tried to paint as their ‘war on women.’ Ms. McSally, 47, who is favored in her party primary, is also part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s ‘Project GROW,’ a recruiting and mentoring program designed to promote women and encourage them to run for elected office. … In an interview, Ms. McSally agreed that Republicans ‘have a bad brand’ when it comes to women, but said her candidacy may help. ‘I think certainly having someone like me that comes in, I’ve been spending my whole life breaking stereotypes, and I think I would do it again,’ she said, though added, ‘Just like my time in the military, I’m not running because I’m a woman.’” http://nyti.ms/1c7xUMG

DEMOCRATS’ IMMIGRATION GAMBIT – Seung Min Kim writes for POLITICO: “Though aides say no decision has been made, House Democratic leaders are strategizing on when to deploy what’s known as a discharge petition, which would have to garner a majority of lawmakers’ signatures to force immigration legislation onto the House floor for a vote. Advocates of the gambit are aiming to increase the pressure on Republicans who have so far resisted moving on reform this year. But the pro-reform coalition is split over the timing of the discharge effort — with some urging lawmakers to take it up immediately and others advising them to hold off.” http://politi.co/NvyAjk

FIRST BLACK CONGRESSWOMAN GETS A STAMP – Eli George reports for WIVB in Buffalo, N.Y.: “The U.S. Postal Service is honoring the first African-American Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm. The USPS is releasing a limited edition Black Heritage Forever Stamp featuring Chisholm, which was unveiled on Tuesday at Forest Lawn Cemetery. She and her husband are both interred there. Those who were close to the Congresswoman say she was a pioneer. Chisholm even made a run at the Democratic nomination for president in 1972.” http://bit.ly/1c7GcUY

TUESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Shelby Boxenbaum was first to correctly answer that Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) is the most senior woman in the House. She ranks 15^th overall.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Roll Call’s David Hawkings points out that Debbie Dingell could make history by becoming the first person in Congress to succeed their living spouse. http://goo.gl/GFa82U Huddle reader Caitlin Gallagher asks: Who was the most recent member of Congress to be succeeded by his spouse? 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/

** After years of saying “wait until next year,” Congress finally has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. This is the news seniors have been waiting for.  But we’re not over the finish line yet. Congress must act by March 31st to avoid another costly temporary patch. Let’s pass H.R. 4015/S. 2000, scrap the broken SGR formula and fix Medicare once and for all! FixMedicareNow.org

POLITICO – Top 10 – Huddle

GOP BORROWS DEMS" IDEAS ON TAX REFORM – Obama to call for $300B transpo bill – DINGELL DYNASTY ROLLS ON – Furman, Simas to brief House Dems – trivia

RO KHANNA: I"M NO TECHIE – Reid"s 2014 game plan: Dash of bipartisanship – McCAUL: EXTRADITE "EL CHAPO" -- Clinton stars in Grimes"s campaign -- Trivia

By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

RO KHANNA: I’M NO TECHIE – The former Obama administration official taking on fellow Democrat and veteran Rep. Mike Honda in Silicon Valley, may have Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer and Eric Schmidt in his corner. Just don’t call him a techie. 

In an wide-ranging interview with Huddle at a Starbucks near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Ro Khanna went out of his way to distance himself from the “techie” label that’s defined his campaign for the past year.  “I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’ve never started a company. I’ve got a middle-class background and am still paying off student loans. I went to public schools. If anything, I took more philosophy and economics classes than computer science and technology classes. … My voice is not one of Silicon Valley. Because of my life experiences, I see some of these structural changes taking place, globalization, technology, and I have ideas about how we can allow middle-class families and their kids to participate in this economy. …

– “I’m not a techie. I wish I were. I wish I were worth a billion dollars and started a company. … I have access to people who are technology leaders and thought leaders but I come from the perspective of someone who is not part of that world. And I’ve criticized tech companies for a lack of representation of Asian Americans at their highest ranks, with a lack of women, with a lack of African American and Latino employees. … I’m not supporting the pack policy interest of these companies.

– Khanna, 37, a patent lawyer and former deputy assistant secretary in the Commerce Department, knocked Honda for having a thin legislative record and failing to articulate any sort of economic vision for the future. But Khanna acknowledged that he had praised the seven-term congressman publicly in the past: “I said Mike Honda is an honorable person who’s had a distinguished career in public service. I’ve said he’s been a go-to person on national Asian American issues. I believe that Mike Honda has helped national Asian American candidates run for office, people like Ami Bera. … I just don’t think he’s understands or is the right leader to represent Silicon Valley. And I don’t think there is any intellectual inconsistency with that. …

– “He has focused on issues of civil liberties and civil rights. So there is a complete difference in expertise and focus in what we want to achieve. It’s up to the voters to decide whose experience and background better matches the times and the district. My view is that this district — which is the heart of Apple, Yahoo, Intel, Cisco, LinkedIn, Google, Tesla and middle class folks from all of those areas — will pick someone with economic expertise and background.

– While Khanna thinks it’s time for Honda to go, he wouldn’t say the same for other longtime Silicon Valley Democrats: “I think Anna Eshoo is very different. She has called for transparency in the procurement process. Recently, she was outspoken as a leader when the NSA debate happened. She would have the support of almost all the tech leaders who are supporting me. Many of them would support Zoe Lofgren. … They know Anna Eshoo, they like Anna Eshoo, they think Anna Eshoo has been a champion for Silicon Valley. It is night and day. She’s far more effective, and Zoe has done substantive work on SOPA and PIPA.”

REID’S 2014 GAME PLAN: SOME BIPARTISANSHIP – Burgess Everett writes for POLITICO: “Harry Reid is aiming for a dash of bipartisanship in his election-year game plan. The Senate majority leader will still push long-shot measures, like paycheck fairness and hiking the minimum wage, designed to appeal to his party’s base. But now he’s considering taking up bills that some Republicans actually support, too, like a manufacturing bill and a prison reform measure. It’s a marked shift from the widely held belief among members of both parties that Senate Democrats will hold votes this year only on proposals that stress their political message — a strategy in line with the Nevada Democrat’s goal of keeping the Senate in Democratic hands in the 2014 election. … Passing some bills — even if they’re modest ones — could help rehabilitate the image of the entire chamber, which has grown more bitterly partisan since Reid last fall activated the ‘nuclear option’ rules change that eliminated filibusters on most presidential nominees.” http://politi.co/1fv237w

** Republicans and Democrats finally agree! Congress has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. But not if Congress gives up before the March 31 deadline. SGR is the problem; H.R. 4015 and S. 2000 are the solution. FixMedicareNow.org

GOVERNORS: TOUGH ROAD FOR OBAMACARE REPEAL – Steve Peoples and Ken Thomas report for the Associated Press: “The explosive politics of health care have divided the nation, but America’s governors, Republicans and Democrats alike, suggest that President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is here to stay. While governors from Connecticut to Louisiana sparred Sunday over how best to improve the nation’s economy, governors of both parties shared a far more pragmatic outlook on the controversial program known as ‘Obamacare’ as millions of their constituents begin to be covered. ‘We’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation,’ said Republican Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, who called the health care law ‘unaffordable and unsustainable’ yet something he has to implement by law. …  [G]overnors from both parties say a full repeal of the law would be complicated at best, if not impossible, as states move forward with implementation and begin covering millions of people…” http://bit.ly/1h52WnS

EGYPT’S MILITARY-BACKED GOVERNMENT RESIGNS – Reuters’ Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif report from Cairo: “Egypt’s government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, paving the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic U.S. ally gripped by political strife. … For Sisi to run for president he would first need to leave his post as defense minister. ‘This (government resignation) was done as a step that was needed ahead of Sisi’s announcement that he will run for president,’ an Egyptian official said. He told Reuters that the cabinet had resigned en masse as Sisi did not want to appear to be acting alone.” http://reut.rs/1gvZSyC

CLINTON STARS IN GRIMES’S CAMPAIGN – Philip Rucker on A1 of the Washington Post: “During Bill Clinton’s first-inaugural festivities, a 14-year-old girl from Kentucky presented the new president with an honorary bouquet of red roses at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. Two decades later, that girl, Alison Lundergan Grimes, is a candidate to become Kentucky’s first female senator. And Clinton — an uncle figure whom Grimes counts as a friend, mentor and adviser — is playing a starring role in her campaign and will appear at a sold-out Grimes fundraiser Tuesday.

– “As Grimes weighed whether to run for the Senate, Clinton took nearly an hour out of a visit last year to Owensboro, Ky., to huddle privately with her. Hillary Rodham Clinton provided her counsel as well. They both offered their unconditional support and talked about how much fight it will take for a Democrat to unseat Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, a wily campaigner known for vilifying his opponents. ‘I think what the Clinton family, from President Clinton to Secretary Clinton, and I have in common is that we don’t scare easy — no matter the bully,’ Grimes said in an interview. …

– “Grimes is living proof that the Clintons, both now out of office, remain the first family in Democratic politics. At 35, Grimes is just 15 months older than their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and is practically the Clintons’ political offspring. A win in November would demonstrate the appeal of Clintonian centrism in Republican territory.” http://wapo.st/1gv5dpT

UNDER DeMINT, HERITAGE SHIFTS FROM POLICY TO POLITICS – Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman write on A1 of the New York Times: “Not long after Jim DeMint took over the Heritage Foundation last spring, his team summoned the staff for a meeting unlike any the decorous conservative policy organization had ever convened. Music blared in the auditorium. Policy analysts began with a few awkward jokes and then scampered about in a series of skits that laid out the foundation’s goals. Some of the veteran managers of the staid think tank stared on balefully. A new era had arrived. From its inception in 1973, the Heritage Foundation has provided the blueprint for the Republican Party’s ideas in Washington. In doing so, it has proved to be the most durable organization of its kind. But under Mr. DeMint, a South Carolinian who gave up his Senate seat last year to take the helm, Heritage has shifted. Long known as an incubator for policy ideas and the embodiment of the party establishment, it has become more of a political organization feeding off the rising populism of the Tea Party movement.” http://nyti.ms/1fh70fL

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, FEB. 24, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your-play-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include @AdamWollner and @mateagold.

MANY THANKS to my colleagues Ginger Gibson and Seung Min Kim for filling in for me last week.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House returns from its Presidents’ Day recess on Tuesday. The Senate is back at 2 p.m. today, at which time Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) will be recognized to read George Washington’s Farewell Address. At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on the nomination of Jeffrey Alker Meyer to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

AROUND THE HILL – Sen. Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and Central and South Asian Affairs, holds a conference call at 4:30 p.m. to discuss his visits to Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and Egypt. RSVP to amy_dudley@kaine.senate.gov. At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sens. Tim Scott and Cory Booker and former Sens. Carol Moseley Braun, Roland Burris and William “Mo” Cowan  mark Black History Month with a panel titled “Honoring our Past and Celebrating our Future: Discussing Personal Journeys and a Nation’s Progress with America’s Black Senators,”  at the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. RSVP to rsvp@scott.senate.gov or Scott_Press@scott.senate.gov by 2 p.m. today.  On Thursday morning, Sen. Bob Corker speaks at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY

– McCAUL: EXTRADITE ‘EL CHAPO’ – Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is urging Mexico to consider extraditing alleged drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera — also known as El Chapo — to the United States for prosecution, reports POLITICO’s Byron Tau: “I would ask that the Mexicans consider extraditing him to the United States, where he would be put into a super-max prison under tight security where he cannot escape,” McCaul (R-Texas) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”  Guzmán was apprehended in a beachfront condo Saturday by Mexican marines and police, aided by U.S. law enforcement agencies. http://politi.co/1cH7sY6

– SEN. JOHN McCAIN said the violent uprising in Ukraine should make Russian President Vladimir Putin “nervous” about his own leadership in Russia,” writes POLITICO’s Trevor Eischen. “They want to be western,” the Arizona Republican, appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” said of the Ukrainian people. “They don’t want to be eastern.” http://politi.co/1c0Vgn3

– NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SUSAN RICE said Sunday she has no regrets about her now-infamous round of TV interviews in 2012 about the attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, Byron Tau writes. Asked by NBC’s “Meet the Press” host David Gregory if she had any regrets about the interviews, Rice replied: “No.”  “Because what I said to you that morning, and what I did every day since, was to share the best information that we had at the time,” Rice said. http://politi.co/1nYpl6B

KANSAS SENATE HOPEFUL POSTED GRISLY X-RAY IMAGES – Tim Carpenter writes for the Topeka Capital-Journal: “U.S. Senate candidate Milton Wolf posted a collection of gruesome X-ray images of gunshot fatalities and medical injuries to his Facebook page and participated in online commentary layered with macabre jokes and descriptions of  carnage. Wolf, a Johnson County radiologist anchoring a campaign for the Republican nomination with calls for federal heath care reform, said in an interview the medical images were legally uploaded to public social media sites and other online venues for educational purposes. They also served, he said, to demonstrate evil lurking in the world. However, Wolf and others viewing these Facebook postings relentlessly poked fun at the dead or wounded. The gunshot victim, Wolf joked online, wasn’t going to complain about the awkward positioning of his head for an X-ray.” http://bit.ly/1lbAYKy

– Wolf later acknowledged Sunday that he posted “insensitive” comments online, which he described as “mistakes.” James Hohmann in POLITICO: http://politi.co/1gtTwjl

LANDRIEU SEEKS SUPPORT FROM INDEPENDENTS, CONSERVATIVES – The AP’s Bill Barrow in Lafayette, La.: “Democrat Mary Landrieu’s quest for a fourth Senate term will turn on whether she can attract just enough support from independents and Republicans to win in this increasingly conservative state. The daughter and sister of New Orleans mayors, that’s been Landrieu’s re-election strategy since 2002, when her donors included a Baton Rouge physician named Bill Cassidy, now her Republican challenger in this year’s midterm elections. Replicating that winning formula could depend on what matters more to voters: Landrieu’s growing ability to help Louisiana’s oil and gas industry through her recent promotion to chairwoman of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee or her unapologetic vote for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. …

-- “In this race, allegiances don’t fall neatly along party lines. ‘I’m a die-hard Republican, but I love Mary Landrieu,’ said Lafayette resident Mark Miller, who owns and runs multiple Louisiana-based companies that drill and offer support services to other energy companies. ‘You can’t overstate what it means for this state to have her experience and influence, especially with the energy chairmanship.’” http://yhoo.it/1k3jixj

SCOTT BROWN, MAN OF MYSTERY – James Hohmann writes for POLITICO: “Scott Brown performed with the band Cheap Trick at a concert in Massachusetts last weekend, strumming his guitar along as they played ‘Surrender.’ Two weeks earlier, a shirtless picture of him at a polar bear swim appeared on the cover of New Hampshire’s largest newspaper. On Thursday, a conservative blog reported that the former senator will keynote an April GOP fundraiser … in Iowa. If Brown plans to challenge Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), something he’s flirted with for the better part of a year now, the former Massachusetts senator has chosen a very unusual way to lay the groundwork. But those who know the 54-year-old Republican say it doesn’t mean he won’t. He’s just a one-man band who will do it on his own terms and timetable.

– “Half a dozen people who have spoken with Brown recently about his future say he is genuinely conflicted about whether to run. Several of them said Brown thinks he has until April to make up his mind, or possibly even closer to the June 13 filing deadline. But another person familiar with his thinking cautioned an announcement might come as early as the first week of March. …  Unique, detached, aloof — call it what you like. ‘Doing what I said I would do,’ Brown emailed POLITICO nonchalantly last week, in response to the latest query about what he’s up to. ‘I’m settling in, adjusting, introducing myself and helping … Keep you posted.’” http://politi.co/1pi5C5m

THE POLITICAL AFTERLIFE – The University of Minnesota’s Eric Ostermeier writes on his “Smart Politics” blog that a dozen retiring, ex- or deceased members of Congress still have active campaign websites: “One announced his retirement last September. Another died in October. One resigned last week. A dozen members of Congress that aren’t running for reelection still have active campaign websites – that accept financial donations … A Smart Politics analysis finds that through February 23rd, a dozen U.S. Representatives from the 113th Congress who have announced their retirements, resigned, or died in office still have campaign websites that actively solicit campaign contributions. The most eyebrow-raising among these is the reelection website of former 22-term Florida Republican Bill Young. Young died last October 18th and a special election to fill his seat will be held in less than a month.” http://bit.ly/MnT0K6

CURTAIN CLOSES ON SOCHI, RUSSIA BREATHES SIGH OF RELIEF – Sarah Lyall writes on A1 of the NYT: “Russia had so much to prove at the Winter Games. Was spending however-many billions of dollars to build an Olympics-industrial complex from scratch on the edge of the Black Sea worth it? How could the country overcome a thicket of potential problems: security worries, logistical obstacles, weather annoyances and the darkening specter of revolution in nearby Ukraine? The closing ceremony on Sunday night was advertised as a celebration of Russian culture and heritage: a grand party to show off the work of distinguished Russian musicians, dancers, artists and authors through the centuries. But it seemed as much a great sigh of happy relief as anything else. Russia had done it. It had held an Olympics that were safe and secure and that, thrillingly to the home fans, demonstrated the restoration of Russia’s athletic might. Four years after finishing the Vancouver Games with less than half as many medals as the United States, Russia won the most: 33. Almost overnight, it seemed, the mood in Russia shifted, from a kind of grumbling fatalism to a burst of national pride.” http://nyti.ms/1bE45Tq

FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Todd Metcalf was the first to correctly answer that John Kerry is the current sitting Cabinet member who received a degree from Boston College.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – With spring training underway, Claude Marx pitches a baseball question: The grandchild of what presidential aide turned secretary of state became an owner of a New York City sports team? Name the secretary of state, the team owner and team name. 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/

** After years of saying “wait until next year,” Congress finally has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. This is the news seniors have been waiting for.  But we’re not over the finish line yet. Congress must act by March 31st to avoid another costly temporary patch. Let’s pass H.R. 4015/S. 2000, scrap the broken SGR formula and fix Medicare once and for all! FixMedicareNow.org

POLITICO – Top 10 – Huddle

RO KHANNA: I"M NO TECHIE – Reid"s 2014 game plan: Dash of bipartisanship – McCAUL: EXTRADITE "EL CHAPO" -- Clinton stars in Grimes"s campaign -- Trivia

RO KHANNA: I"M NO TECHIE – Reid"s 2014 game plan: Dash of bipartisanship – McCAUL: EXTRADITE "EL CHAPO" -- Clinton stars in Grimes"s campaign -- Trivia

By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

RO KHANNA: I’M NO TECHIE – The former Obama administration official taking on fellow Democrat and veteran Rep. Mike Honda in Silicon Valley, may have Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer and Eric Schmidt in his corner. Just don’t call him a techie. 

In an wide-ranging interview with Huddle at a Starbucks near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Ro Khanna went out of his way to distance himself from the “techie” label that’s defined his campaign for the past year.  “I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’ve never started a company. I’ve got a middle-class background and am still paying off student loans. I went to public schools. If anything, I took more philosophy and economics classes than computer science and technology classes. … My voice is not one of Silicon Valley. Because of my life experiences, I see some of these structural changes taking place, globalization, technology, and I have ideas about how we can allow middle-class families and their kids to participate in this economy. …

– “I’m not a techie. I wish I were. I wish I were worth a billion dollars and started a company. … I have access to people who are technology leaders and thought leaders but I come from the perspective of someone who is not part of that world. And I’ve criticized tech companies for a lack of representation of Asian Americans at their highest ranks, with a lack of women, with a lack of African American and Latino employees. … I’m not supporting the pack policy interest of these companies.

– Khanna, 37, a patent lawyer and former deputy assistant secretary in the Commerce Department, knocked Honda for having a thin legislative record and failing to articulate any sort of economic vision for the future. But Khanna acknowledged that he had praised the seven-term congressman publicly in the past: “I said Mike Honda is an honorable person who’s had a distinguished career in public service. I’ve said he’s been a go-to person on national Asian American issues. I believe that Mike Honda has helped national Asian American candidates run for office, people like Ami Bera. … I just don’t think he’s understands or is the right leader to represent Silicon Valley. And I don’t think there is any intellectual inconsistency with that. …

– “He has focused on issues of civil liberties and civil rights. So there is a complete difference in expertise and focus in what we want to achieve. It’s up to the voters to decide whose experience and background better matches the times and the district. My view is that this district — which is the heart of Apple, Yahoo, Intel, Cisco, LinkedIn, Google, Tesla and middle class folks from all of those areas — will pick someone with economic expertise and background.

– While Khanna thinks it’s time for Honda to go, he wouldn’t say the same for other longtime Silicon Valley Democrats: “I think Anna Eshoo is very different. She has called for transparency in the procurement process. Recently, she was outspoken as a leader when the NSA debate happened. She would have the support of almost all the tech leaders who are supporting me. Many of them would support Zoe Lofgren. … They know Anna Eshoo, they like Anna Eshoo, they think Anna Eshoo has been a champion for Silicon Valley. It is night and day. She’s far more effective, and Zoe has done substantive work on SOPA and PIPA.”

REID’S 2014 GAME PLAN: SOME BIPARTISANSHIP – Burgess Everett writes for POLITICO: “Harry Reid is aiming for a dash of bipartisanship in his election-year game plan. The Senate majority leader will still push long-shot measures, like paycheck fairness and hiking the minimum wage, designed to appeal to his party’s base. But now he’s considering taking up bills that some Republicans actually support, too, like a manufacturing bill and a prison reform measure. It’s a marked shift from the widely held belief among members of both parties that Senate Democrats will hold votes this year only on proposals that stress their political message — a strategy in line with the Nevada Democrat’s goal of keeping the Senate in Democratic hands in the 2014 election. … Passing some bills — even if they’re modest ones — could help rehabilitate the image of the entire chamber, which has grown more bitterly partisan since Reid last fall activated the ‘nuclear option’ rules change that eliminated filibusters on most presidential nominees.” http://politi.co/1fv237w

** Republicans and Democrats finally agree! Congress has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. But not if Congress gives up before the March 31 deadline. SGR is the problem; H.R. 4015 and S. 2000 are the solution. FixMedicareNow.org

GOVERNORS: TOUGH ROAD FOR OBAMACARE REPEAL – Steve Peoples and Ken Thomas report for the Associated Press: “The explosive politics of health care have divided the nation, but America’s governors, Republicans and Democrats alike, suggest that President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is here to stay. While governors from Connecticut to Louisiana sparred Sunday over how best to improve the nation’s economy, governors of both parties shared a far more pragmatic outlook on the controversial program known as ‘Obamacare’ as millions of their constituents begin to be covered. ‘We’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation,’ said Republican Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, who called the health care law ‘unaffordable and unsustainable’ yet something he has to implement by law. …  [G]overnors from both parties say a full repeal of the law would be complicated at best, if not impossible, as states move forward with implementation and begin covering millions of people…” http://bit.ly/1h52WnS

EGYPT’S MILITARY-BACKED GOVERNMENT RESIGNS – Reuters’ Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif report from Cairo: “Egypt’s government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, paving the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic U.S. ally gripped by political strife. … For Sisi to run for president he would first need to leave his post as defense minister. ‘This (government resignation) was done as a step that was needed ahead of Sisi’s announcement that he will run for president,’ an Egyptian official said. He told Reuters that the cabinet had resigned en masse as Sisi did not want to appear to be acting alone.” http://reut.rs/1gvZSyC

CLINTON STARS IN GRIMES’S CAMPAIGN – Philip Rucker on A1 of the Washington Post: “During Bill Clinton’s first-inaugural festivities, a 14-year-old girl from Kentucky presented the new president with an honorary bouquet of red roses at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. Two decades later, that girl, Alison Lundergan Grimes, is a candidate to become Kentucky’s first female senator. And Clinton — an uncle figure whom Grimes counts as a friend, mentor and adviser — is playing a starring role in her campaign and will appear at a sold-out Grimes fundraiser Tuesday.

– “As Grimes weighed whether to run for the Senate, Clinton took nearly an hour out of a visit last year to Owensboro, Ky., to huddle privately with her. Hillary Rodham Clinton provided her counsel as well. They both offered their unconditional support and talked about how much fight it will take for a Democrat to unseat Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, a wily campaigner known for vilifying his opponents. ‘I think what the Clinton family, from President Clinton to Secretary Clinton, and I have in common is that we don’t scare easy — no matter the bully,’ Grimes said in an interview. …

– “Grimes is living proof that the Clintons, both now out of office, remain the first family in Democratic politics. At 35, Grimes is just 15 months older than their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and is practically the Clintons’ political offspring. A win in November would demonstrate the appeal of Clintonian centrism in Republican territory.” http://wapo.st/1gv5dpT

UNDER DeMINT, HERITAGE SHIFTS FROM POLICY TO POLITICS – Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman write on A1 of the New York Times: “Not long after Jim DeMint took over the Heritage Foundation last spring, his team summoned the staff for a meeting unlike any the decorous conservative policy organization had ever convened. Music blared in the auditorium. Policy analysts began with a few awkward jokes and then scampered about in a series of skits that laid out the foundation’s goals. Some of the veteran managers of the staid think tank stared on balefully. A new era had arrived. From its inception in 1973, the Heritage Foundation has provided the blueprint for the Republican Party’s ideas in Washington. In doing so, it has proved to be the most durable organization of its kind. But under Mr. DeMint, a South Carolinian who gave up his Senate seat last year to take the helm, Heritage has shifted. Long known as an incubator for policy ideas and the embodiment of the party establishment, it has become more of a political organization feeding off the rising populism of the Tea Party movement.” http://nyti.ms/1fh70fL

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, FEB. 24, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your-play-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include @AdamWollner and @mateagold.

MANY THANKS to my colleagues Ginger Gibson and Seung Min Kim for filling in for me last week.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House returns from its Presidents’ Day recess on Tuesday. The Senate is back at 2 p.m. today, at which time Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) will be recognized to read George Washington’s Farewell Address. At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on the nomination of Jeffrey Alker Meyer to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

AROUND THE HILL – Sen. Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and Central and South Asian Affairs, holds a conference call at 4:30 p.m. to discuss his visits to Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and Egypt. RSVP to amy_dudley@kaine.senate.gov. At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sens. Tim Scott and Cory Booker and former Sens. Carol Moseley Braun, Roland Burris and William “Mo” Cowan  mark Black History Month with a panel titled “Honoring our Past and Celebrating our Future: Discussing Personal Journeys and a Nation’s Progress with America’s Black Senators,”  at the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. RSVP to rsvp@scott.senate.gov or Scott_Press@scott.senate.gov by 2 p.m. today.  On Thursday morning, Sen. Bob Corker speaks at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY

– McCAUL: EXTRADITE ‘EL CHAPO’ – Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is urging Mexico to consider extraditing alleged drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera — also known as El Chapo — to the United States for prosecution, reports POLITICO’s Byron Tau: “I would ask that the Mexicans consider extraditing him to the United States, where he would be put into a super-max prison under tight security where he cannot escape,” McCaul (R-Texas) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”  Guzmán was apprehended in a beachfront condo Saturday by Mexican marines and police, aided by U.S. law enforcement agencies. http://politi.co/1cH7sY6

– SEN. JOHN McCAIN said the violent uprising in Ukraine should make Russian President Vladimir Putin “nervous” about his own leadership in Russia,” writes POLITICO’s Trevor Eischen. “They want to be western,” the Arizona Republican, appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” said of the Ukrainian people. “They don’t want to be eastern.” http://politi.co/1c0Vgn3

– NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER SUSAN RICE said Sunday she has no regrets about her now-infamous round of TV interviews in 2012 about the attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, Byron Tau writes. Asked by NBC’s “Meet the Press” host David Gregory if she had any regrets about the interviews, Rice replied: “No.”  “Because what I said to you that morning, and what I did every day since, was to share the best information that we had at the time,” Rice said. http://politi.co/1nYpl6B

KANSAS SENATE HOPEFUL POSTED GRISLY X-RAY IMAGES – Tim Carpenter writes for the Topeka Capital-Journal: “U.S. Senate candidate Milton Wolf posted a collection of gruesome X-ray images of gunshot fatalities and medical injuries to his Facebook page and participated in online commentary layered with macabre jokes and descriptions of  carnage. Wolf, a Johnson County radiologist anchoring a campaign for the Republican nomination with calls for federal heath care reform, said in an interview the medical images were legally uploaded to public social media sites and other online venues for educational purposes. They also served, he said, to demonstrate evil lurking in the world. However, Wolf and others viewing these Facebook postings relentlessly poked fun at the dead or wounded. The gunshot victim, Wolf joked online, wasn’t going to complain about the awkward positioning of his head for an X-ray.” http://bit.ly/1lbAYKy

– Wolf later acknowledged Sunday that he posted “insensitive” comments online, which he described as “mistakes.” James Hohmann in POLITICO: http://politi.co/1gtTwjl

LANDRIEU SEEKS SUPPORT FROM INDEPENDENTS, CONSERVATIVES – The AP’s Bill Barrow in Lafayette, La.: “Democrat Mary Landrieu’s quest for a fourth Senate term will turn on whether she can attract just enough support from independents and Republicans to win in this increasingly conservative state. The daughter and sister of New Orleans mayors, that’s been Landrieu’s re-election strategy since 2002, when her donors included a Baton Rouge physician named Bill Cassidy, now her Republican challenger in this year’s midterm elections. Replicating that winning formula could depend on what matters more to voters: Landrieu’s growing ability to help Louisiana’s oil and gas industry through her recent promotion to chairwoman of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee or her unapologetic vote for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. …

-- “In this race, allegiances don’t fall neatly along party lines. ‘I’m a die-hard Republican, but I love Mary Landrieu,’ said Lafayette resident Mark Miller, who owns and runs multiple Louisiana-based companies that drill and offer support services to other energy companies. ‘You can’t overstate what it means for this state to have her experience and influence, especially with the energy chairmanship.’” http://yhoo.it/1k3jixj

SCOTT BROWN, MAN OF MYSTERY – James Hohmann writes for POLITICO: “Scott Brown performed with the band Cheap Trick at a concert in Massachusetts last weekend, strumming his guitar along as they played ‘Surrender.’ Two weeks earlier, a shirtless picture of him at a polar bear swim appeared on the cover of New Hampshire’s largest newspaper. On Thursday, a conservative blog reported that the former senator will keynote an April GOP fundraiser … in Iowa. If Brown plans to challenge Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), something he’s flirted with for the better part of a year now, the former Massachusetts senator has chosen a very unusual way to lay the groundwork. But those who know the 54-year-old Republican say it doesn’t mean he won’t. He’s just a one-man band who will do it on his own terms and timetable.

– “Half a dozen people who have spoken with Brown recently about his future say he is genuinely conflicted about whether to run. Several of them said Brown thinks he has until April to make up his mind, or possibly even closer to the June 13 filing deadline. But another person familiar with his thinking cautioned an announcement might come as early as the first week of March. …  Unique, detached, aloof — call it what you like. ‘Doing what I said I would do,’ Brown emailed POLITICO nonchalantly last week, in response to the latest query about what he’s up to. ‘I’m settling in, adjusting, introducing myself and helping … Keep you posted.’” http://politi.co/1pi5C5m

THE POLITICAL AFTERLIFE – The University of Minnesota’s Eric Ostermeier writes on his “Smart Politics” blog that a dozen retiring, ex- or deceased members of Congress still have active campaign websites: “One announced his retirement last September. Another died in October. One resigned last week. A dozen members of Congress that aren’t running for reelection still have active campaign websites – that accept financial donations … A Smart Politics analysis finds that through February 23rd, a dozen U.S. Representatives from the 113th Congress who have announced their retirements, resigned, or died in office still have campaign websites that actively solicit campaign contributions. The most eyebrow-raising among these is the reelection website of former 22-term Florida Republican Bill Young. Young died last October 18th and a special election to fill his seat will be held in less than a month.” http://bit.ly/MnT0K6

CURTAIN CLOSES ON SOCHI, RUSSIA BREATHES SIGH OF RELIEF – Sarah Lyall writes on A1 of the NYT: “Russia had so much to prove at the Winter Games. Was spending however-many billions of dollars to build an Olympics-industrial complex from scratch on the edge of the Black Sea worth it? How could the country overcome a thicket of potential problems: security worries, logistical obstacles, weather annoyances and the darkening specter of revolution in nearby Ukraine? The closing ceremony on Sunday night was advertised as a celebration of Russian culture and heritage: a grand party to show off the work of distinguished Russian musicians, dancers, artists and authors through the centuries. But it seemed as much a great sigh of happy relief as anything else. Russia had done it. It had held an Olympics that were safe and secure and that, thrillingly to the home fans, demonstrated the restoration of Russia’s athletic might. Four years after finishing the Vancouver Games with less than half as many medals as the United States, Russia won the most: 33. Almost overnight, it seemed, the mood in Russia shifted, from a kind of grumbling fatalism to a burst of national pride.” http://nyti.ms/1bE45Tq

FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Todd Metcalf was the first to correctly answer that John Kerry is the current sitting Cabinet member who received a degree from Boston College.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – With spring training underway, Claude Marx pitches a baseball question: The grandchild of what presidential aide turned secretary of state became an owner of a New York City sports team? Name the secretary of state, the team owner and team name. 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/

** After years of saying “wait until next year,” Congress finally has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s broken funding formula. This is the news seniors have been waiting for.  But we’re not over the finish line yet. Congress must act by March 31st to avoid another costly temporary patch. Let’s pass H.R. 4015/S. 2000, scrap the broken SGR formula and fix Medicare once and for all! FixMedicareNow.org

POLITICO – Top 10 – Huddle

RO KHANNA: I"M NO TECHIE – Reid"s 2014 game plan: Dash of bipartisanship – McCAUL: EXTRADITE "EL CHAPO" -- Clinton stars in Grimes"s campaign -- Trivia

AN ESCAPE HATCH FOR OBAMA ON SYRIA? – Obama heads to the Hill – Issa to Cantor: Let"s vote again on Amash amdt. – O"Donnell to Weiner on primary eve: What"s wrong with you? - trivia

By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

SYRIA ESCAPE HATCH? OBAMA’S ACCIDENTAL DIPLOMACY – POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein has the latest developments on Syria: “President Barack Obama has stumbled into a possible resolution of the Syria showdown, after an act of apparently accidental U.S. diplomacy seemed to deliver a potential way to wriggle out of his political predicament. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested at a London news conference Monday morning that the crisis could be defused if Syrian President Bashar Assad surrendered his chemical weapons to an international force. The Russians jumped on the idea and Monday evening Obama was sounding open to the proposal.

‘This could potentially be a significant breakthrough,’ Obama told NBC. ‘But we have to be skeptical because this is not how we’ve seen them operate over the last couple of years.’

– “With members of Congress clamoring for a chance to avoid a vote to authorize military action, the idea has a certain undeniable political convenience for the administration because it could avert the possibility of a political loss that could damage Obama’s reputation and to the U.S.’s global standing. The fast-moving developments meant the only thing that seemed certain Monday was that giving the diplomats time to work the issue could forestall an American strike and make it difficult for the White House to demand lawmakers take a tough vote to approve military action against Syria. … But in his round of interviews with network TV anchors Monday, Obama seemed eager to turn the lemons into lemonade, casting the development as a combination of his threat to use force and his own personal engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” http://politi.co/15NYZBB

BREAKING … AP: “Syria says it has accepted Russia’s proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly agreed to the Russian initiative to ‘derail the U.S. aggression.’ Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia is now working with Syria to prepare a detailed plan of action, which will be presented shortly. Lavrov said that Russia will then be ready to finalize the plan together with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.” http://bit.ly/15MQwZm

WAS A SYRIAN-RUSSIAN DEAL in the works before Kerry’s off-the-cuff remarks? Joshua Keating in Slate: “Obama … suggested that he had discussed such a proposal–or something similar to it–during the two leader’s brief meeting at last week’s G-20 summit. (Remember, plans for a full one-on-one between the two leaders were scuttled following the Edward Snowden affair.) … [A] lot of folks are also giving a second look today to a Haaretz article from Sept. 1 – little noticed at the time – in which journalist veteran Israeli journalist Barak Ravid suggested a potential deal was in the works that sounds very much like the one being discussed today.” http://slate.me/16g1NEI

FRONT-PAGE HEADLINES – NYT 2-col. lead: “OBAMA BACKS IDEA FOR SYRIA TO CEDE CONTROL OF ARMS: Russian Plan on Chemical Weapons – ‘It’s Possible if It’s Real,’ He Says.” WaPo: “Syria Welcomes Russian plan to avert U.S. strike: CALL TO GIVE UP CHEMICAL ARSENAL: Obama cautions but sees potential breakthrough.” L.A. Times: “U.S. weighs Russia’s offer on Syrian arms: A call for chemical weapons to be placed in U.N. control gives Obama an alternative to a military strike.” Boston Globe 5-col. banner hed: “Talk swirls of a peaceful resolution: Russia, Syria pounce on Kerry’s remarks about surrendering arms; Obama cautious.”  USA Today: “Obama steps back on Syria: Russia pushes plan to have Assad give up chemical weapons.” WSJ: “Obama Push to Hit Syria Takes Detour.”

OBAMA HEADS TO THE HILL – POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown explains Obama’s thinking as he lunches with Senate Democrats and Republicans in separate meetings today: “President Barack Obama will attempt Tuesday to reset — again — his Syria strategy after a week of conflicting statements, mixed messages and unanswered questions. The best that Obama can hope for, according to one senior administration official, is that lawmakers and voters give his argument a second chance. The White House will know quickly whether Obama succeeded — or failed — based on what it hears from Capitol Hill. The president, in a rare flash of insecurity, told NBC News Monday that even he wasn’t confident that he could win congressional approval for military strikes. The use-of-force resolution looks dead in the House, increasingly doubtful in the Senate and stubbornly unpopular with the public. Between the prime time address and a trip to Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday to meet separately with Senate Democrats and Republicans, Obama will get a pair of the high-profile opportunities to shift the trend. ‘We’ve got a lot of cards to play still,’ the official said.

– “But it won’t be easy. Democrats and Republicans say they need Obama to make a clear case for why it’s in America’s national security interests to strike Syria and what will be achieved by the attack. They want to know how limited strikes wouldn’t drag the country into another prolonged military action.” http://politi.co/15NYojh

9 TONIGHT: Obama speaks to the nation on Syria in a primetime address from the East Room.

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID has delayed a procedural vote on an increasingly unpopular Syria resolution that had been set for Wednesday, USA Today’s Susan Page reports. “Six senators, including five Republicans and one Democrat, announced Monday they would vote against a resolution authorizing the use of force — a strong indication that the administration’s efforts to build bipartisan support have been ineffective. The Senate was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a procedural motion to begin formal debate on the resolution, but Reid announced late Monday the vote would be delayed in order to buy the president more time to make his case to senators and the public.” http://usat.ly/17LUMMm

– Meanwhile, Syrian protesters welcomed returning lawmakers to Capitol Hill, Roll Call’s Hannah Hess reports: http://bit.ly/18LNs1G

– Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are still undecided about whether to back the Syria strike resolution after meeting with Obama and National Security Adviser Susan Rice at the White House, Ginger Gibson reports: http://politi.co/19DyGuW

** 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.

ISSA TO CANTOR: LET’S VOTE AGAIN ON AMASH AMENDMENT – In a letter going out this morning, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) urges Majority Leader Eric Cantor to hold another vote on legislation authored by Rep. Justin Amash that would defund an NSA program that collects Americans’ phone records. Issa previously voted against it, but he’s had a change of heart since new revelations that communications of Americans had been gathered in the data-collection programs.  The chairman calls for moving legislation to the floor – including language from the Amash amendment – “that both increases the transparency of the Agency’s programs and reinforces the constitutional protections of our citizens.” Read the letter here:  http://bit.ly/1fUptjw

HUDDLE FIRST LOOK: DCCC VIDEO: GOP LOST AUGUST RECESS – The DCCC is out with a new video this morning highlighting the backlash that House Republicans faced during the August recess. The video, called “Republicans Lost August,” includes local coverage of protests, rallies, and events where Republicans felt the heat on issues ranging from immigration and social security to ethics investigations.

DCCC Chairman Steve Israel will reinforce that message at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning and will discuss how the fiscal debates this fall only reinforce all the problems House Republicans have with voters.  Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/13FE7J2

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, September 10, 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.

My new followers include @mkinzel and @suraechinn.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. for party caucuses lunches with President Barack Obama. The House also meets at 10 with first votes expected between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. and last votes between 4:15 and 5 p.m. on legislation including the National Association of Registration Agents and Brokers Reform Act and the Science Laureates of the United States Act.

AROUND THE HILL – W.H. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough meets with the House Democratic Caucus at 8:50 a.m. in HVC-215, followed by a media availability with Leader Nancy Pelosi. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse holds a news conference on climate change at 9:30 a.m. in the Senate Swamp. Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference media availability at 10 a.m. in HC-8. Sen. Whitehouse and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, Rosa DeLauro and Jan Schakowsky denounce tea party efforts to sabotage Obamacare at 10:15 a.m. in SVC 200. Sen. Jeff Flake and others speak on the farm bill at 10:45 a.m. in the Senate Swamp. Reps. Michael Grimm, Earl Blumenauer and Jim McGovern speak on transit parity benefits at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle. Also at 11, Reps. Thomas Massie and Jared Polis speak on the conflicts in state and federal laws governing industrial hemp farming in Cannon 122.

Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee speak at the “Exempt America from ObamaCare” rally from noon to 2 p.m. on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad briefing at 1 p.m. in H-144. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of American host Reps. Dennis Ross and Bill Pascrell at a closed congressional briefing on how to prepare for natural disasters, at 1 p.m. in Cannon 121. Rep. Ron Desantis and Sen. David  Vitter speak on OPM subsidies within Obamacare at 2 p.m. at the House Triangle. Congressional leaders hold a Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, at 3 p.m. in Statuary Hall.

BEFORE PRIMARY DAY, LAWRENCE O’DONNELL ASKS WEINER: WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? –   Corinne Lestch writes for the New York Daily News: “Anthony Weiner took a beating on the night before the mayoral primary from MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, who repeatedly asked the scandal-scarred Democratic candidate, ‘What is wrong with you?’ The TV host turned his show, ‘The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,’ into a combative, bizarre, not-quite-therapy session Monday night when he barraged Weiner with vague questions, barely letting the mayoral hopeful get a word in edgewise. … After an awkward pause, Weiner replied that he didn’t understand the question. ‘I mean, what is wrong with you that you cannot seem to imagine a life without elective office?’ The two men began arguing, and O’Donnell waffled between showing disgust and tolerance for Weiner’s sexting scandals, which plunged him far behind the other candidates in the polls.” http://nydn.us/1eyGORf Watch here: http://youtu.be/mVSOe-sx2gw

THE ROGERS REPORT: HOUSE GOP MAY RESURRECT LEGISLATIVE GAMBIT ON OBAMACARE – “House Republicans are dusting off an old legislative gambit from April 2011 as one way to move ahead this week with a stopgap spending bill for the first months of the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1,” David Rogers writes. “The goal is to give conservatives a vote on defunding health care reform without resulting in a government shutdown. It has worked before, but ‘before’ is the operative word. And until Tuesday’s Republican Conference, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) won’t really know whether this flash from the past can flash again. Most simply, the procedure calls for sending the Senate a stopgap spending bill with a resolution that would alter the text of the bill once it’s enrolled for presentation to President Barack Obama. In this case, the so-called enrollment correction would bar funding to carry out Public Law 111-148, Obama’s signature health care reforms. But the Democratic-controlled Senate retains the right to choose: accepting the spending resolution with or without the so-called correction.” http://politi.co/1ezcTbE

– CLUB FOR GROWTH PRESIDENT CHRIS CHOCOLA RESPONDS: “Are these news reports from The Onion? Or are they real? When members were at home over recess, did they hear their constituents ask for legislative tricks or principled leadership? Trying to fool Republicans into voting to fund Obamacare is even worse than offering a bill that deliberately funds it. I hope this proposal is nothing more than a bad joke and is quickly discarded. Republicans should simply do what they say they are for by passing a Continuing Resolution that doesn’t fund Obamacare.”

SANFORD GOT EXEMPTION TO TAKE FIANCEE TO ISRAEL – Shane Goldmacher writes in National Journal: “Rep. Mark Sanford, whose extramarital dalliance abroad while governor of South Carolina led to scandal, took his mistress-turned-fiancée, María Belén Chapur, to Israel in August, on a trip paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, congressional records show. Such privately funded trips are typically limited to relatives, but Sanford, a Republican who won a House seat in a special election earlier in the year, asked for and received a special exemption to take Belén Chapur along. Sanford gave a two-word answer on the congressional travel form when asked why he wanted to participate in the Israel trip. ‘Educational purposes,’ he wrote.

– “The American Israel Education Foundation spent more than $ 18,558 to fly Sanford and his fiancée to and from Israel for the weeklong journey. They flew business class, records show, with round-trip flights that cost more than $ 5,000 apiece. They were part of a delegation of roughly two dozen Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. … The couple departed for Israel on Aug. 10 and returned Aug. 18. The website LegiStorm, which tracks congressional travel, first noted the participation of Belén Chapur on the trip, which included stops in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, and the Sea of Galilee. Sanford’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” http://bit.ly/1al4HZR The original Legistorm report: http://bit.ly/1cZ1O1O

MONDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Paul Hays was the first to correctly answer that Charles Evans Hughes, Jr. had to resign his solicitor general post when his father became chief justice of the U.S. in 1930.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Paul Hays has today’s question: Who is the only signer of the Declaration of Independence buried in Washington, D.C.? 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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POLITICO – Top 10 – Huddle

AN ESCAPE HATCH FOR OBAMA ON SYRIA? – Obama heads to the Hill – Issa to Cantor: Let"s vote again on Amash amdt. – O"Donnell to Weiner on primary eve: What"s wrong with you? - trivia

LEWIS STILL MARCHING ON WASHINGTON – Booker wins big – Will Labrador announce run for guv? – Jacksons" sentencing today – HOOTERS BANS FILNER – Tweets can predict elections – trivia

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.

My new followers include @IPCPR_KipTalley and @swagodio.

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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POLITICO – Top 10 – Huddle

LEWIS STILL MARCHING ON WASHINGTON – Booker wins big – Will Labrador announce run for guv? – Jacksons" sentencing today – HOOTERS BANS FILNER – Tweets can predict elections – trivia