McCain Curses Out Cornyn Over Immigration

The New York Post reports that an argument between Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and John McCain became very heated over the immigration deal, and McCain proceeded to curse out Cornyn, yelling "Fuck you!" and calling Cornyn's objections to the legislation "chickenshit stuff," a cover for Cornyn's unalterable opposition to the bill. Cornyn shot back, noting McCain's chronic absenteeism from the Senate, telling McCain he wasn't allowed to "just parachute in at the last minute and begin making all these demands."



Video: Romney Bashed Contract With America In 1994

Here's a recently-posted YouTube of Mitt Romney running against the national Republican Party's Contract With America in 1994. Romney called the idea of such an organized national platform overly divisive, and called instead for politicians of both parties to sit down and work together on common solutions.






Bush Hits New Low With Rasmussen — Who Tend To Give Him Better Numbers

President Bush has reached a new low in Rasmussen polling, with 34% approval to 64% disapproval — the worst rating he has ever received from that polling firm. And bear in mind, as a look at our Election Central Poll Tracker will demonstrate, Rasmussen has consistently given the President the best approval ratings out of any pollster.



Hoyer: Congress Will Stay In Session Until Iraq Bill Passes

House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer has announced that the House will remain in session, without going on recess, until an Iraq War funding bill gets passed, The Hill reports. Meanwhile, CNN reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to have a bill passed by Memorial Day, when a recess has been scheduled.



Gingrich Honors Falwell At Liberty University Commencement

Newt Gingrich told the graduating class Jerry Falwell's Liberty University today to honor the memory of their school's founder by fighting "the growing culture of radical secularism" in America, The Daily Press reports. "In hostility to American history, the radical secularists insist that religious belief is inherently divisive and that public debate can only proceed on secular terms," Gingrich said.



NYT: Hillary Doesn't Talk About Six Years On Wal-Mart's Board Of Directors

The New York Times has a profile of a chapter in Hillary Clinton's life that doesn't get much mention from her campaign: Her six years as a member of the board of directors for Wal-Mart. On the one hand, Hillary's time with the company is not mentioned at all on her campaign Web site, since the company has become a political target of organized labor and other Democratic groups. On the other hand, Hillary helped pioneer various initiatives, now widely practiced, to improve the company's practices on some issues, such as building stores that were more environmentally friendly, and increasing the roles of women in the company.



RNC Chair Martinez Threatens Home State Over Primary

The Associated Press reports that RNC Chairman and U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) has been forced into an awkward situation: Threatening to strip his home state of Florida of some of its Presidential if they insist on moving their primary ahead to Jan. 29, before the national parties' officially sanctioned date of Feb. 5. "The rules are inflexible and it doesn't matter who is running the RNC, those rules will be enforced because they are part of the rules that were crafted at the last convention and they can't be changed," Martinez said.



Chris Dodd Takes Credit For Clinton And Obama's Iraq Votes

The Des Moines Register reports that Chris Dodd says his recent ads, critical of his fellow Presidential candidates for not backing measures to cut off funding for the Iraq War, had influence on the decisions by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to vote for the failed Feingold Amendment. "I'm grateful for them having done that and I believe it had influence on that decision," Dodd said.



Jim Gilmore's Strategy: Attack The Others — And Watch Them Attack Each Other

The Washington Post profiles underdog GOP Presidential candidate Jim Gilmore. The former Virginia Governor — who has only a single staffer in Iowa — has a simple strategy: Attack the others with his "Rudy McRomney is not a conservative" line, and watch them proceed to attack each other based on his critiques. "Romney's going to take his $23 million and go shooting at McCain," said Gilmore strategist Kieran Mahoney. "When Giuliani takes his $17 million and shoots at Romney, that's not a bad day, either. It's not necessary that we own the bullets."