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1.) Scott Brown redux? — Watch out for Massachusetts. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“Only two days into the general election to fill Secretary of State John Kerry’s Massachusetts Senate seat, the race between longtime Democratic Rep. Ed Markey and Republican businessman Gabriel Gomez is fairly close. According to an Emerson College poll released Thursday, Gomez trails Markey by just six points in the blue state, 36 percent to 42 percent. Both candidates are popular, with Markey boasting a 48 percent favorability rating and Gomez 45 percent. But Markey has higher unfavorables, at 37 percent, than Gomez, who is viewed unfavorably by only 25 percent of people. Still, those numbers show Gomez to be a much less-well known quantity, meaning they could shift as voters get to know him.”
If Gomez is as good a candidate as his biography is compelling, the GOP may score a Scott Brown-like surprise in the Bay State.
2.) She-terrorist — In America, we like (often understandably) to celebrate the first of something. On this, TheDC Morning doesn’t think — or at least it hopes — there won’t be much celebrating. TheDC’s Caroline May reports:
“The FBI has added the first woman ever to its list of Most Wanted Terrorists: Joanne Chesimard — a fugitive convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper, and the godmother of murdered rapper Tupac Shakur. Law enforcement made the announcement Thursday, on the 40th anniversary of the murder. Chesimard has since been granted asylum in Cuba and now calls herself Assata Shakur. … She often speaks out publicly against the United States from her Cuban haven. The rapper Common, whose appearance at a White House poetry night caused a stir in 2011, penned a song in her honor called, “A Song for Assata.”
As hopeful as TheDC Morning is about humanity, it just doesn’t know what certain Women’s Studies faculties will do with the news.
3.) The May Day of yore — TheDC’s Chris Bedford is nostalgic for the May Day that once was:
“Wednesday was May Day — that favorite day of the year when the oppressed workers of the world cast off their chains (riot) and stand up for human dignity (vandalize stuff). But back in the days before TV, Englishmen of good cheer would celebrate May Day by breaking out their clogs, bell pads and dancing sticks, and hopping about like a bunch of merry idiots, bringing glee to the children and amusement to the senile. We can even catch them around today, flitzing about farmers markets — though the dancers are often a little heftier than in days past. Of course, the salad days were not to last, and in the 20th century, May Day became synonymous with Russia. And, as Russians are wont to do, they made it a sad and terrifying holiday. Soviet Russia flipped the spring celebration on its head by marching down the Square for Uncle Joe Stalin, trying to scare the workers of the West with their totally-for-serious faces and near-complete lack of gainful employment.”
4.) Same event, different accounts — Someone spinneth. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Two very different pictures are emerging of what took place this weekend at a series of townhall meetings by Kelly Ayotte, the Republican senator from New Hampshire. Ayotte traveled back to the Granite State to meet with constituents, and among the topics that came up were her votes against new gun control measures. But local and national news media are giving sharply contrasting accounts of what really happened when the gun control issue surfaced. If you read about the meetings in the national press, you likely went away thinking the Republican lawmaker was overwhelmed by pro-gun control critics. You might think the opposite if you read reports from the local news there. …The stories in local press gave a different impression. The Concord Monitor reported that, ‘The crowd of about 250 in the Winnisquam Regional High School cafetorium seemed mostly supportive of Ayotte, applauding frequently, including after a man thanked her for her vote against the background checks legislation.'”
Both perspectives can’t be right.
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Jeffrey Goldberg: Hertz operator: “Washington?” Me: “Yes.” “Washington state?” “No, Washington, D.C.” “I’m not showing that.” “It’s the capital.” “Okay.”
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Birthday Spread Sent to Pro-reunification Patriot”
VIDEO: Ruben Gurrero will not stop calling Floyd Mayweather Jr. a wife -beater