Friday, October 13, 2006
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... With Warner out, the "2008 Race Just Got Hazier for Democrats," reads a Los Angeles Times front-page headline. President's Schedule: Did you know...? Also on the Political Radar today: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) NORTH KOREAN DUD? Four days after North Korea tried to set off its first nuclear bomb, U.S. intelligence agencies think the blast detected by seismic sensors was a plutonium-fueled device that did not fully explode. "The working assumption is that what happened, more likely than not, was an attempted nuclear test that fell far short of being successful," said one U.S. official familiar with the latest intelligence assessment. There is still no confirmation that North Korea succeeded in creating a nuclear explosion, and so far no radioactive particles that would confirm a successful nuclear test have been detected. The Washington Times first reported Tuesday that U.S. officials were having doubts, based on preliminary data, about North Korea's boasts about having successfully tested its first nuclear device. Washington Times: Korean test seen as only partial blast SEN. FINANCE REPORT SHOWS ABRAMOFF BOUGHT INFLUENCE FROM NONPROFITS: Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued yesterday. The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients' positions. Washington Post: Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff FULL REPORT NO MENTION OF INTERNET GAMING MEASURE AT WH SIGNING CEREMONY TODAY: President Bush gets a chance to promote fellow Republicans as America's tough-on-terror protectors with a bill passed by the GOP-controlled Congress that aims to enhance port security and close a loophole in anti-terror defenses. Bush also was set to sign into law an unrelated provision the bill contains that seeks to put teeth into laws that forbid most online gambling. But the president was not planning to mention the Internet gaming provision during Friday's White House signing ceremony, which was expected to draw lawmakers from both parties. Instead, Bush's remarks were to focus on the multiple ways the legislation could reduce the likelihood that terrorists could sneak a nuclear, chemical or biological weapons device into the country in one of the 11 million shipping containers that enter the country each year, many without any inspection. AP via Yahoo! News: Bush to sign security, Internet bill HASTERT "JUST GETS THE JOB DONE," SAYS BUSH IN CHICAGO: President Bush delivered an in-person show of support for House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Thursday and professed optimism for Republicans in next month's elections, but a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows a majority of Illinois voters disapprove of the president's job performance and nearly 60 percent are unhappy with the GOP-led Congress... "I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House, who is going to be the future speaker of the House," Bush told several hundred people at an intimate fundraising reception at the Chicago Hilton and Towers on Michigan Avenue. "Speaker Denny Hastert has a long record of accomplishment and he's not one of these Washington politicians who spews a lot of hot air," the president said. "He just gets the job done." Bush and Hastert stood shoulder-to-shoulder-though only for a few minutes-on a low stage within arms' reach of a cheering audience. Hastert, who spoke only briefly in introducing Bush, called the president "our friend" and "our leader." A key player in the unfolding scandal involving teenage pages and a Florida lawmaker testified for more than four hours before a House ethics committee panel yesterday, repeating his assertions that Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's top aide had early warnings about the congressman's questionable behavior toward youths, according to the witness's attorney. Kirk Fordham, who was a chief of staff to then-Rep. Mark Foley (R), was consistent with his previous statements when he gave sworn testimony to a panel investigating the House's handling of Foley's actions, lawyer Timothy J. Heaphy told reporters after the two men emerged from an afternoon of questioning. Washington Post: Foley's Former Top Aide Testifies SHIMKUS APPEARS TODAY: The chief congressional overseer of House pages, who says he tried to stop ex-Rep. Mark Foley from e-mailing a Louisiana page in late 2005, is ready to explain his actions to House investigators. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., scheduled for questioning Friday before the House ethics committee, says he kept the two other House members overseeing the pages in the dark as he confronted Foley last fall. Shimkus, chairman of the House Page Board, said he was following the wishes of the boy's parents by not telling the other members. AP via Yahoo! News: Overseer of House pages to be questioned GOP REFOCUSES CASH AFTER SOME RACES "APPEAR UNWINNABLE": Faced with a deteriorating political climate, Republican Party officials are hoping to keep control of the House and Senate with a strategy aimed at shoring up enough endangered incumbents to preserve their majorities, while scaling back planned spending on races that now appear unwinnable. In recent days, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has given back television time it had reserved in Democratic-held districts in West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio -- apparently concluding that those races are beyond reach unless something dramatic changes the national political environment in the 25 days before the Nov. 7 election. Washington Post: GOP Redirects Funds From Faltering Races 76 BALLOT INITIATIVES AT THE POLLS NOV. 7: Voters next month will decide the most citizen-sponsored referendums in a non-presidential election in nearly 100 years, as groups step up efforts to shape policy by putting measures directly to popular vote. Eighteen states will decide 76 ballot initiatives in November, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That's exceeded only by 87 such measures in 1914 - when initiatives were popular as part of the Progressive movement that fought moneyed special interests, the conference says... Ohio has four initiatives, including a labor-backed proposal to raise the minimum wage, which sponsors hope will help Democrats in close races for governor, Senate and two House seats. In Missouri, an initiative to allow stem cell research could influence a tight Senate race. USA Today: Long list of laws headed to voters WARNER OUT... WANTS "TO HAVE A REAL LIFE": "While politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge -- at this point, I want to have a real life." Former Gov. Mark R. Warner's decision not to run for president in 2008 scrambles politics in Virginia and beyond. Warner's unexpected announcement yesterday could lead to a realignment of the Democratic presidential field, forcing moderates and Southerners to look elsewhere for an alternative to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, now considered the front-runner for the nomination. It also could complicate Virginia politics. The popular Warner has made no secret of his interest in another term as governor. Should he seek the nomination in 2009, that could crowd a field that includes at least two prospects, both of whom badly lag behind Warner in name recognition and fund-raising ability. Richmond Times-Dispatch: Warner nixes 2008 bid STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR WARNER (via Forward Together PAC) FIRST CASUALTY OF "THE HILLARY EFFECT?" Mark Warner may be the first, yet probably not the last, of the Democratic presidential hopefuls who succumb to what might be called the Hillary Effect. The former Virginia governor took himself out of the 2008 presidential race yesterday, citing the toll such a quest would take on his family. Democratic consultants, while not questioning Warner's explanation, said that other forces may also be at work. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has carved out such formidable advantages in fundraising, organization and ideological positioning, they said, that lesser-known candidates such as Warner will find it hard to compete. Bloomberg: Warner's Abortive White House Bid Reflects Clinton's Strength "HAZIER" OUTLOOK FOR '08: [Warner's] decision opens the field for other candidates hoping to present themselves as centrists, including Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. "The great dynamic in this race is: Who are the one or two others in the pack who can break out and challenge Sen. Clinton?" said Simon Rosenberg, founder of the New Democrat Network, an organization that promotes progressive candidates. "This benefits all the people who are going to be challenging Hillary." Warner's stature among Democrats was based less on his nationwide visibility - he polled in the single digits - but more on the centrist record he built as governor. Los Angeles Times: 2008 Race Just Got Hazier for Democrats ROMNEY'S "AGGRESSIVE COURTSHIP" OF DC "POWER BROKERS": Eager to expand his network in Washington, D.C., before launching a probable presidential bid, Governor Mitt Romney is embarking on an aggressive courtship of Republican power brokers inside the Beltway. The outreach includes a fund-raiser with lobbyists and other insiders on Capitol Hill next Monday and a strategy session with a select group of "politically active senior professionals" the following week at a Washington lobbying firm. He has also been working to charm members of Congress and is turning to influential fellow Mormons in the nation's capital. It all serves to beef up the political network of Romney, who, despite his growing stature among prospective presidential candidates, lacks the Washington relationships enjoyed by potential 2008 rivals, such as Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Senator John S . McCain III. Boston Globe: Romney networks inside the Beltway NV GOV CANDIDATE USES NEW '08 "SPOTLIGHT" TO HER ADVANTAGE: No longer is it, "Um, Dina who?" The name of the Democratic candidate for governor here, Dina Titus, is tattooed on the brain of most every Democrat who wants to be president, because of Nevada's newly vaunted position in the 2008 election calendar. Since Democrats moved the caucus here smack between the Iowa caucus, the first contest of the year, and the New Hampshire primary, Ms. Titus has worked the fund-raising circuit with Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Senators Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin and John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Evan Bayh of Indiana and Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa are on their way. New York Times: Nevada Feeling Political Glow of '08 Spotlight CASEY-SANTORUM DEBATE "RESEMBLED A BARROOM BRAWL - MINUS THE FISTS": Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey Jr. sparred over character and policy yesterday in a debate that better resembled a barroom brawl - minus the fists. From the first minutes to the last, the candidates talked over each other, pressed their own questions, and leveled stinging criticism. They clashed over where Santorum sleeps at night, how often Casey does his job as state treasurer, and which of them is more transparent with voters. "Look in the camera and tell the people how many 9-to-5 days you spent," Santorum said, pointing at Casey, then the camera. "... Look in the camera, Mr. Casey."... Casey did not oblige. "Don't be a desperate campaigner," he said, maintaining his focus on Santorum. Philadelphia Inquirer: Santorum and Casey get riled in debate NEY APPEARS IN COURT TODAY: U.S. Rep. Bob Ney will generate more bad publicity for Republicans today when he pleads guilty to federal conspiracy charges. The six-term congressman from Heath is scheduled to emerge from alcohol rehab long enough to admit he defrauded the public by accepting gambling chips, trips, meals, concert tickets and other perks from businessmen who sought his official actions, and that his public disclosure statements didn't accurately account for the gifts. Although Ney faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and $500,000 in fines, his plea agreement with government recommends that he spend 27 months in prison. A Justice Department spokesman said Ney will likely not be sentenced for another few months. Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ney to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges today 93% OF SEX PREDATORS PROSECUTED BY PIRRO GOT SOME FORM OF PROBATION: In press releases she issued over six years, Jeanine F. Pirro, the Westchester County district attorney, trumpeted the arrests made in Internet sex stings that her office ran... Now, as the Republican candidate for attorney general, Ms. Pirro has made her pursuit of these sex predators a central theme. Her campaign Web site says that the sting operation, which she started in the summer of 1999, led to the arrests of "over 100 pedophiles - with a 100 percent conviction rate."... Only eight of the men prosecuted by Ms. Pirro were given outright prison sentences by judges, according to records from the district attorney's office. The rest, 93 percent, received some form of probation. "In many cases, we asked for jail time and didn't get it," Ms. Pirro said. New York Times: In Sex Arrests Hailed by Pirro, Little Jail Time |
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The CNN Political Ticker provides the latest political news.To sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails, visit CNN.com member services page. If you do not have a CNN.com account, you can register here. If you have any feedback, suggestions or news tips, drop us a line here. NEW IN THE TICKER
• Countdown: 25 days 'til Election Day• Lawyer: If asked, Fordham will continue to help in... • Speaker's office 'confident' in ethics investigati... • Warner blazed path for '08 • AP: Pirate Wants Politics to Walk the Plank • Ahead on CNN tonight • Bayh, Clinton and Edwards benefit from Warner's ex... • Roll Call: Five Years After Attacks, FBI Refuses t... • Kerry raising money for Hastert's opponent • Menendez has edge over Kean in New Jersey Senate R... SUBSCRIBE
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