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1.) John Edwards is back … but this time his name is Anthony Weiner — It’s hard to be shocked by anything Anthony Weiner does given what we know he did, but frankly it’s hard to believe this. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“Democrat Anthony Weiner and his wife brazenly stood side-by-side at a late-afternoon press conference, telling reporters that they love each other and will keep campaigning for the mayor’s office in New York. The defiant stand took place only hours after a gossip website produced a new stream of crudely sexual test sent by Weiner to a 22-year-old woman, and it prompted angry response by embarrassed pro-feminist Democrats. ‘Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after, but I do really strongly believe that is between us and our marriage,’ said his wife, Huma Abedin. ‘I love him, I’ve forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we’d said from the beginning, we’re moving forward,’ Abedin told a roomful of journalists and cameras that broadcast the press conference on cable television nationwide.”
The shocking aspect of this story, of course, is that Weiner continued to engage in lewd online conversations with random women AFTER he was forced to resign from Congress in disgrace for doing just that. What makes this a John Edwards-level act of narcissism is that after having already publicly humiliated his wife, he not only continued to engage in the same behavior but he also decided that he was fit to run for elected office again. John Edwards ran for president while having an affair and knowing that in the remote — though not entirely impossible — chance he won the Democratic nomination, he would risk his party’s chance of winning the presidency if his affair got out. Weiner ran for mayor knowing that his post-Congress pervy Twitter convos would likely be revealed and again embarrass his family. What’s more, they could have been revealed after he won the Democratic primary, which means he ran knowing that depending on when these convos got out, he could potentially imperial his party’s almost-certain victory in the mayoral race. Weiner is a special kind of awful. If New York City still elects him after all of this, well, they deserve what they get.
2.) Tea party cover — Mitch McConnell has a primary challenger from the right. In a completely unrelated story, he’s making sure the tea party knows they have a friend in him. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“With just hours before he finds himself with a Republican primary challenger, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell spent Tuesday evening courting tea party and conservative groups during a private gathering of activists and lawmakers inside the Capitol. ‘What you guys have provided is the energy, the enthusiasm and the arguments to push back on this incredible assault,’ McConnell said, according to a source in the room. ‘No issue illustrates that better than Obamacare.’ The closed door ‘Tea Party Legislative Forum’ — which was also attended by a host of conservative lawmakers including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee — could not have come at a better time for McConnell. For months, the Kentucky Republican has been wooing tea party activists and working hard to fend off a potential primary challenge from the right in 2014. But on Wednesday, first-time candidate Matt Bevin is set to announce a campaign to take on McConnell.”
3.)Boehner blast — He cries. He also yells. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Speaker of the House John Boehner snapped at a reporter Tuesday when the journalist accused the lawmaker of playing no substantial role in the immigration debate on Capitol Hill. During a weekly House GOP press availability, the Ohio Republican appeared annoyed when he interrupted a reporter who asserted as fact that Boehner has taken a ‘hands off approach on immigration.’ ‘Woah, woah, woah, woah, stop,’ Boehner said, not letting the reporter finish the question. ‘Just stop.’ ‘Let’s get back to the premise of the question,’ he said. “Nobody has spent more time trying to fix a broken immigration system than I have.'”
4.)Bob’s sob — When you’ve done something wrong, suck it up and apologize … on Twitter. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:
“Scandal-plagued Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell publicly apologized on Tuesday and announced that he has personally repaid questionable loans from a political donor. Reports over the last few months have exposed various improprieties in McDonnell’s relationship with Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr. Williams, among other things, paid the $15,000 catering bill for McDonnell’s daughter’s wedding, made a $50,000 loan to McDonnell’s wife in 2011, and made two other loans, totally over $70,000 to a real estate company that the governor owns with his sister. While the world had it’s eyes glued on the door of St. Mary’s Hospital, waiting for the arrival of the royal baby, McDonnell quietly released an apology for that on Twitter, and announced that the two loans had been repaid, with interest — $52,278.17 for the loan to his wife, and $71, 837.00 for the loans to the real estate firm.”
5.) Tweet of Yesterday —Jonah Goldberg: Hey Kate Middleton! DO NOT TAKE ANY TEXTS FROM AMBASSADOR CARLOS DANGER!!
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Floral Basket to Kim Jong Un from Zhang Wei-hua’s Family”
VIDEO: Chris Matthews slams Anthony Weiner after presser admitting more sexting