Eric Holder fires up the NAACP crowd, Ben Quayle ups the ante, Mitt Romney turns outsourcing around on Obama, and Crossroads GPS drops $2.5 million.
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WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
* In a speech before the NAACP in Houston, Attorney General Eric Holder fired up the crowd with his pledge to fight Texas’ new photo ID law. “We call those poll taxes,” he said, referencing Jim Crow laws designed to disenfranchise black voters. “I can assure you that the Justice Department’s efforts to uphold and enforce voting rights will remain aggressive,” he added. The Texas law is currently in federal court.
* Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney turned the “outsourcing” charge back on Obama today, arguing that the president is the one sending American jobs overseas. The Post reported today on liberal criticism of Obama’s record on outsourcing.
* Like Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), John Brunner was late paying taxes on a plane — making it harder for the would-be GOP nominee to attack her on that issue. Vi-Jon Services, Brunner’s company, was two months late in paying $8,589 in property taxes on a private jet in 2006. McCaskill paid $300,000 in back taxes on a plane last year.
* Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), who once called Obama “the worst president in history,” says in a new ad that he “overestimated him.” (So Obama is worse than the worst president in history?) Quayle faces a competitive member-vs-member primary against Rep. Dave Schweikert on Aug. 28, and clearly he’s hoping his combative attitude will sway voters.
* Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley (R) has called for a Nov. 6 special election to fill the seat vacated by Thad McCotter (R) last week, the same day as the general election. A primary will be held on Sept. 5. The winner will only serve for a couple of months in a lame duck session and redistricting makes it a logistical nightmare, but the law left officials no choice. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is out of state.
WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:
* Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting Obama, is releasing a memo tomorrow detailing polling in five swing states — Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — where the group says its attacks on Romney’s Bain Capital record are working.
* New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) says he might back Republicans in some state Senate races, a blow to Democrats who are hoping to take back the state Senate. He told the Daily News he “could see myself endorsing any individual regardless of party label” and would not commit to helping the Democrats’ campaign organization.
* The Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS has launched a $2.5 million ad campaign in Montana, Ohio and Virginia targeting the health-care law. The ads will run for 10 days on broadcast and cable.
* The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is out with a third independent expenditure ad in North Dakota. Like previous ads, “Priorities” attacks Rep. Rick Berg (R) as rich and out of touch. “Rick Berg is one of the richest Members of Congress,” the narrator says. “So why did he vote to raise his own pay seven times and give huge tax breaks to millionaires like himself?” It’s part of $1.5 million the group has spent or reserved in the state to support Heidi Heitkamp (D).
* Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.) outraised Demcoratic opponent Brad Schneider in the second quarter of the year $717,396 to $582,000. Schneider had to fight a tough primary campaign, and Dold now has four times as much cash in this competitive new district.
THE FIX MIX:
Someone put a lot of work into this song.
With Aaron Blake
