Another Black Eye for Rand Paul: Pallin’ Around with Neo-Confederate Secessionist

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Here’s Jack in his confederate mask (he’s not nearly so creepy looking sans mask, but then, intimidating others is obviously a goal of Jack’s and is much harder to pull off as himself):

Jack Hunter in his Confederate Mask, “A photo of the Southern Avenger posted to Rebellion Blog” via Free Beacon

Politicususa

By: Sarah JonesJul. 9th, 2013

Nobody but a hardcore, Fox-watching, Daily Caller-reading Republican will vote for Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) for President now.

It turns out that Senator Paul has been pallin‘ around with a neo-confederate pro-secessionist named Jack Hunter. Hunter is a close Congressional aide to Senator Paul, and is, according to Media Matters, a “regular” on Fox, writes for the conservative Daily Caller (also known as the Daily Screamer for screaming at President Obama during a Rose Garden speech, but they are also not racists — they just play racists when covering the White House), is associated with former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint (big surprise), and helped Paul write his 2010 book The Tea Party Goes to Washington.

The Free Beacon reported Tuesday that among Hunter’s other activities like advocating for the secession of the South as chairman of the “implicitly racist group” League of the South or writing for The American Conservative or promoting Ron Paul’s presidential run on Fox News Business (‘cuz nothing says freedom like secessionism, just ask Sarah Palin), he was also a shock jock supporting the assassination of President Lincoln.
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The House Of Representatives Members Most Likely To Back Immigration Reform

Huff Post

Elise Foley  &

Aaron Bycoffe

Posted: 07/09/13 EDT

WASHINGTON — As the immigration reform debate begins in earnest in the House, one of the biggest issues is the math. The bill needs 218 votes to pass. Democratic leaders said they think they can convince most of their party’s 201 members to vote in favor. That means they’d need around 20 Republicans to join them. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has repeatedly insisted he will only allow the House to vote on an immigration reform plan if a majority of Republicans support it.

That would mean finding about 120 Republicans willing to back a plan that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which former GOP leadership aides said is almost impossible. Somewhere between 50 and 80 is a more realistic number, they said — which means a potentially overwhelming majority of House members in favor of reform.

If it becomes clear that the House has far more votes than needed to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the pressure on Boehner to “let the House work its will,” as he’s fond of saying, increases exponentially. That pressure may be the only way to get comprehensive immigration legislation through the House that includes a pathway to citizenship, along with border security and changes to legal immigration and enforcement policies.

HuffPost will be tracking support as the debate goes on. The following count is based on the combined intelligence of several immigration groups and informed House staffers, along with a look at lawmakers’ past votes, public statements and district demographics. It maps out which House members will either support immigration reform or, at the very least, remain quiet on it. If Boehner refuses, as he has said he will, to pass the bill without a majority of Republicans, below are the politicians reformers will try to win over, including some skeptical Democrats and those likely entrenched on either side.

This is not a final count, and will continue to be updated as more information becomes available. If your representative has sent you a letter or made a statement on immigration, please email it to us here with “immigration whip count” in the subject line.

SOURCE

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Sarah Palin: ‘I’ve Considered’ A Senate Run

The Huffington Post  |  By Danielle Schlanger Posted: 07/09/2013 6:15 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/09/2013 6:26 pm EDT

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is considering going back on the ballot.

In an interview on “The Sean Hannity Show” Tuesday, the 2008 vice presidential candidate indicated she might throw her hat in the ring to become one of Alaska’s U.S. Senators.

“I’ve considered it because people have requested me considering it,” Palin said, after Hannity mentioned rumors of a potential Senate run.

“I’m still waiting to see, you know, what the lineup will be and hoping that, there again, there will be some new blood, new energy — not just kind of picking from the same old politicians in the state,” Palin continued.

Palin also took the opportunity to swipe at Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who she believes “has got to be replaced.”

“[Begich] has not done what he has promised to do for the people of Alaska and that was to represent what it is that the nation needs in terms of energy development and so many other … development issues that are near and dear to an Alaskan’s heart,” Palin said. “Because he’s on the wrong side of the aisle, he has to go along to get along with his Democrat leadership. And that’s a shame. That’s a waste of opportunity for our nation.”

Begich, who is up for reelection in 2014, had a 41 percent approval rating among Alaskans as of April. Lieutenant Gov. Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, both Republicans, have declared their candidacies against Begich.

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Harry Reid Tees Up Potential Filibuster Rule Fight (VIDEO)

Huff Post

Posted: 07/09/2013 4:39 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/09/2013 6:27 pm EDT

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled Tuesday that his Democratic caucus members are becoming so frustrated with Republicans blocking President Barack Obama’s nominees that they will again consider whether to invoke the so-called nuclear option to change Senate rules.

“I’m going to have a full meeting with my caucus on Thursday. We’re going to talk about nominations,” Reid said. He did not hint what he would do, but suggested his deliberations were far enough along that the sessions with his members would be decisive.

“I think Thursday, by the time the day’s out, you’ll have a better idea of what we’re going to try to do on this,” Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Senate Democrats had threatened to change rules at the start of the session to make filibusters more difficult, but settled on only mild reforms. At the time, Reid promised not to change the rules for the rest of the Senate session as long as the GOP members conducted themselves in the a less obstructive manner more in keeping with Senate history.

But soon thereafter, Republicans attempted the first-ever filibuster of a defense secretary nominee. They have also slow-walked numerous nominees, subjecting them to hundreds of questions before granting a vote — usually resulting in overwhelming confirmation.

The nuclear option involves using arcane Senate parliamentary procedures to force a simple majority vote, which would than set precedent for similar future votes. Many Democrats feel like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has broken his side of the agreement, and they may be prepared to break theirs.

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