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1.) Scott Walker for president? — TheDC’s Matt Lewis interviews Sean Trende on the Wisconsin governor’s chances:
“Sean Trende, senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics and author of, ‘The Lost Majority: Why The Future Of Government Is Up For Grabs And Who Will Take It,’ likes Walker’s chances. ‘The fashionable pick is Marco Rubio,’ Trende said, ‘and I certainly see why.’ But he added, ‘I’ll go ahead and say Scott Walker, just to be a little bit contrarian — because he’s really someone who checks off the boxes a little bit more. He’s got executive experience.’ The problem with senators is that they have voting records to contend with, Trende said, before adding that, ‘Scott Walker is more of a blank check who can kind of modulate himself a little bit for whatever the national and party’s mood happens to be for 2015.'”
Three cheers for mood shifting! Exactly what you want in a leader: #sarcasm. Actually, Walker demonstrated that he was quite a good leader during his fight with the public sector unions.
2.) Colbert redux? — First Democrats sought Stephen Colbert’s sister as a congressional candidate (flashback: that ended badly), and now they seem to be seeking Jimmy Buffett’s. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:
“Democrats are reportedly wishing the sister of musician Jimmy Buffett would run for Congress in a coastal Alabama district. Citing a Democratic party source, the Mobile Press-Register reported that Gulf Shores, Ala. restaurant owner Lucy ‘LuLu’ Buffett is being mentioned as possible Democrat to run in the heavily-Republican district. The Buffetts are from Mobile. Lucy Buffett is well-known in the area for her eponymous beach restaurant, LuLu’s. She was a 2012 delegate to the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina. Asked by The Daily Caller on Monday through Twitter if she’s planning to run, Buffett responded: ‘Haha. Not today. But the thought makes me smile!'”
On the down side, should she run, Buffett would be running as a Democrat in a district that doesn’t elect Democrats to Congress (at least not in over four decades). On the up side, she apparently knows how to use Twitter. So there’s that.
3.) Bluegrass atheist sass — The atheist in rural Kentucky is having a tantrum. TheDC’s Eric Owens reports:
“This year’s graduation prayer-related brouhaha comes courtesy of Lincoln County High School in central Kentucky. In the face of a challenge from at least half a dozen students, the rural public school’s graduation ceremony included a prayer by the senior-class president, reports The Advocate-Messenger. A student-led prayer has been an annual tradition for each graduating class. Jonathan Hardwick, the Class of 2013 president, delivered this year’s version. … Friday night’s entreaty lasted about a minute. … Ricky Smith, an atheist who was once a Christian, appears to be a major force — perhaps the primary force — behind the opposition to the annual prayer. He attended the graduation because some students and parents had requested his presence. Smith seems to have politely exited the ceremony for the duration of the prayer.”
Getting exercised about a prayer at a high school graduation in rural Kentucky is like getting exercised about a ceremonial bong hit at a high school graduation in Hollywood, California.
4.) Stress at the IRS — The IRS is currently being subjected to four separate investigations, reports TheDC’s Patrick Howley:
“Capitol Hill aides spent their Memorial Day weekend scanning hundreds of pages of documents related to the IRS scandal in order to prepare their bosses for what will inevitably be a frantic month of June involving multiple simultaneous investigations into government wrongdoing. By the time lawmakers return to session next week, at least four different investigations will be underway. As The Daily Caller has reported, at least five different IRS offices including Cincinnati, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois and El Monte and Laguna Niguel, California improperly targeted conservative nonprofit groups for extra scrutiny between 2010 and 2012.”
Read the full story to see the details of the various investigations. No, seriously, do it now. Thanks.
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Noah Pollak: Breaking: EU to supply Syria rebels with European weaponry, including international conferences, UN resolutions, & moral indignation
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “An Elderly Killed by S. Korean Warmongers’ War Drill”