A slew of Democratic state legislators from around the country are resigning from ALEC. New Mexico state Senator George Munoz left the group last week. In South Carolina, Rep. Ted Vick left ALEC, saying it had “become too partisan and too extreme.” The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) has said it will be targeting “bad Democrats” who continue to remain affiliated.
Recalled former State Senate President Russell Pearce (R-AZ) was grilled on his anti-immigration legislation at a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday, by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the bill’s constitutionality.
Two Blue Dog Democratic House members lost their respective primaries last night. Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) lost his reelection bid after serving nearly 10 years in the House. He was beat by Matt Cartwright, a personal injury lawyer. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) also lost last night to Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA). Both Critz and Altmire were incumbents, but had been redistricted into a single congressional district.
On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney has told younger voters that they “have to” vote for him in November, but a new nationwide survey shows that young voters disagree. President Obama holds an early 17 point advantage among voters ages 18 to 29, a key constituency that propelled Obama’s landslide victory in 2008.
Despite significant secret Super PAC spending against him, former coal mining CEO Tom Smith won yesterday’s Pennsylvania GOP senate primary and will face Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D) this November. Former State Rep. Sam Rohrer finished second.
Senate Democrats rebuffed an attempt by Republicans last night to overturn new regulations “designed to give unions quicker representation elections in their effort to organize more workplaces.” Republicans had sought to upend a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board making it easier for unions to organize. “This rule gives workers the same rights that CEOs already enjoy — nothing more and nothing less,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s austerity efforts are not having their intended effect: Britain has entered its second recession since the financial crisis of 2008. The country’s GDP fell a total of .5 percent in the last two quarters, adding more evidence to the argument that budget cuts and an eye aimed at deficits don’t work in times of economic difficulty.
And finally: Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson was very offended to learn that President Obama slow-jammed the news during his appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night. “I think it’s nutso,” she said. “Right now,” said Carlson, “a bunch of former presidents are, like, ‘Huh? That’s what we do now when we’re president of the United States?’”