Congress

The special election campaign for Senate in Massachusetts is only a few days old, but it's already looking close. A new PPP poll shows Democrat Ed Markey leading his Republican opponent, Gabriel Gomez, by only four points. Here's more from PPP:

PPP's first poll of the general election in the Massachusetts Senate special finds a close race, with Ed Markey leading Gabriel Gomez by a 44-40 margin.

The first independent poll of next months' special Senate election in Massachusetts shows Democrat Ed Markey with a six-point lead over Republican Gabriel Gomez. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

According to Virginia-based trade publication Politico: "The Weekly Standard, the flagship publication for national security conservatives, has obsessively promoted [Congressman Tom] Cotton’s speeches and campaign activities." (Which might only be considered obsessive if one didn't compare our coverage of Cotton to Politico's coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner.) Nevertheless, we don't want to disappoint our friends at Politico, so here's a link to their profile of Cotton:

As Pete Kasperowicz reports in The Hill, some Democratic lawmakers have found the solution.  Solution to what, you ask.  Well, to unfairness, which is big this week, what with the effort to make internet businesses collect sales taxes and deal with the rules and interpretations of some 9,000 different taxing jurisdictions.

In response to reports that congressional leaders from both parties are seeking exemptions from Obamacare, Speaker John Boehner's spokesman released the following statement.

Congress is reportedly trying to exempt itself from Obamacare. "Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks" to figure out how to do this, Politico reports.

Congress is looking at ways to escape the coils of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) by making itself and its employees exempt from the provisions of the act.  This show of confidence in its own handiwork – the major legislative accomplishment of the Obama administration – is pretty much what the public has come to expect of the political class. As John Brensnahan & Jake Sherman write in Politico:

Congress is preparing to take action on a bipartisan proposal to raise taxes on flu vaccines. This is not a tax on the wealthy, but rather on a broad swath of Americans, or at least those who choose to be immunized against the flu.

A new congressional report released today highlights the Obama administration's mistake-filled response to the 9/11 Benghazi terror attacks, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

"An ongoing Congressional investigation across five House Committees concerning the events surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya has made several determinations to date, including," the executive summary for the report reads.

Democrat Max Baucus, the senior senator from Montana, will not seek reelection to his seat in 2014. The Washington Post reports:

Things are looking up for Republicans. President Obama’s agenda is collapsing before our eyes. Obama is pointing to the 2014 midterm elections to capture the House and revive his presidency. “My job is not simply to occupy the Oval Office,” he said at a San Francisco fundraiser. “My job is to make sure we move the country forward, and I think we can best do that if Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the House once again.” Obama said Pelosi is “thought ful” and “visionary” and “never lets ideology cloud her judgment.”