As First Read wrote Wednesday and the New York Times does today, don’t forget about Mike Huckabee come 2016. "Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas has not been among the Republicans frequently named as a potential 2016 presidential candidate, but he would like that to change.' I’m keeping the door open,'" Huckabee told the New York Times' Jonathan Martin "Thursday night about the possibility of seeking his party’s nomination again. “I think right now the focus needs to be on 2014, but I’m mindful of the fact that there’s a real opportunity for me.”
Democrats are having a hard time agreeing what to do with Obamacare.
Beth Reinhard sees Republicans using class warfare with racial undertones in their rejection of Medicaid expansion money and food stamps. She writes, “The facts defy the stereotypes. The largest group of food-stamp recipients is white; 45 percent of all beneficiaries are children; and most people eligible for Medicaid are families with children in which at least one person in the household has a job. But pitting makers against takers is simply smart, hardball politics for some Republicans. McConnell, Cassidy, and Ernst all face GOP primaries that will be largely decided by a mostly white conservative base that hates the welfare state.”
The NRCC may be violating FEC rules with mock candidate sites for confusing the public.
KSHB’s Garrett Haake, former 2012 NBC campaign embed, reports on the Republican National Committee’s requirements to cities that want to host the 2016 GOP convention. Reports Haake: “Sixteen thousand ‘first class’ hotel rooms, an 18,000 seat arena available for weeks beforehand and 5,000 volunteers are among the eye-popping numbers listed as ‘basic requirements” in the request for proposal (RFP) sent to competing cities last week. … The form asks cities for information on dining options: how many bars and restaurants? Who’s open 24 hours?”
Charlie Cook: "Conventional wisdom holds that if people see the economy improving, they will be less likely to "throw the bums out" in the next year's elections. But the key is public perception of the economy, not month-to-month shifts in numbers. ...My hunch is that those analysts predicting that the new economic numbers will prompt a change in the political dynamics of 2014 are getting a bit ahead of their skis.
USA Today: "Ratings of the GOP match historic lows in a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll, but Republican voters are more optimistic than Democrats about how their party is going to fare in next year's congressional elections."
LOUISIANA: The Democratic Senate Majority PAC is launching a new TV ad hitting Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) as "part of the problem in Washington." The ad, titled "Problem" says the GOP Senate hopeful "is part of the problem by voting to shut down the government 16 times, to raise the retirement age to 70, and to raise Medicare costs $6,000 a year."