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By Scott Wong (
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swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

SENATE DEMOCRATS SURGING -- John Bresnahan, Manu Raju and David Catanese write for the hometown paper: "Democratic candidates in some of the most critical Senate races in the country are surging, putting the party in its best position of the election cycle to keep its majority in November. The reasons range from the post-convention bounce led by President Barack Obama, to potent Democratic attack ads, to anemic performances of some GOP candidates. Fresh polling in marquee contests shows a distinct trend line in the Democrats' favor, making the GOP's narrow path to a Senate majority significantly more difficult with less than two months until the election.

-- "Democratic candidates in Virginia, Massachusetts and Wisconsin are on the rise after navigating a summer of challenges, and benefiting from Obama's growing strength in all three states. In Florida and Ohio, Democratic incumbents have so far withstood a tidal wave of spending by conservative super PACs and outside groups. Senate Democrats said Wednesday that stumbles by Republican Senate candidates, infighting between the tea party movement and establishment wings of the GOP and effective Democratic ads have all helped their cause. The Democratic convention, they say, firmed up the party's base. ...

-- "At a party lunch Wednesday in the Senate's LBJ Room, Republicans ... argued there is still a clear pathway and that poll numbers are fleeting. Yet there was considerable GOP concern, both publicly and privately, over Mitt Romney's campaign snafus. 'We need him to do well,' Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), No. 3 in leadership, said of Romney. 'I think there's obviously a down-ballot impact from the performance of the top of the ticket - so we're all pulling for him and doing everything we can to help him - especially in a lot of the states where we have really competitive Senate races.'"
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-- Nevada Sen. Dean Heller became the third GOP Senate candidate to distance himself from Romney's remark that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government and see themselves as "victims." He told POLITICO: "You got to understand, I grew up with five brothers and sisters. My father was an automechanic. My mother was a school cook. I just don't view the world the same way he does. Every vote in Nevada counts, every vote. And as a United States senator, my job is represent every one of those votes, whether they voted for me or against me."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fe74a4fc1df13712e94b79fee49e18692c868dd1340557a79
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-- Senate GOP leaders ducked questions about Romney's "47 percent" comments in front of the cameras Wednesday.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fc707693083c292e0fd98826e85cee3fa662b391815899651
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fc707693083c292e0fd98826e85cee3fa662b391815899651

Washington Post, A1, "Kaine takes first lead over Allen," By Ben Pershing and Scott Clement: "Timothy M. Kaine has jumped ahead of George Allen for the first time in their U.S. Senate race, according to a new Washington Post poll in Virginia, changing the complexion of a nationally watched contest that could help determine which party will control the chamber. Kaine (D) leads fellow former governor Allen (R) among likely voters by 51 percent to 43 percent, and Kaine is ahead among all registered voters by an identical margin in the hard-fought contest to succeed the retiring James Webb (D). ... With seven weeks until Election Day, Kaine appears to have a clear edge, helped by a growing lead
among women and a significant uptick in support among seniors and residents of the area surrounding Richmond, where he served as mayor."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fa5f298e5687011cb397fcc877e436ce663996b838be57424
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-- Your Huddle host will be in McLean today for the first televised debate between Kaine and Allen, which will be moderated by NBC's "Meet the Press" host David Gregory. NBC4 will carry the debate, which starts at noon.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fbdeebd5ee02a9bf26b2313ede309086a73d607fa4fcf74e9
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Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren square off in their first debate tonight in Boston:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fc6808bbe05644c7e5e27c773eedee18c072bba203c016c6e
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COBURN: DEMS' VETERANS JOBS BILL IS SAME OLD 'CRAP' - Jonathan Easley writes for The Hill: "Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said the veterans jobs bill that failed to move through the Senate on Wednesday was an example of the 'crap' Congress had done for years. ... 'If in fact we're going to address the economic problems in this country, you have to quit playing felonious accounting with what you're doing, which is exactly what that bill did,' Coburn said Thursday on MSNBC's Morning Joe. 'It violated the Budget Control Act...it's exactly the same kind of, pardon my word, crap, that Congress has done for years and does another. It was a gimmick and we knew it was a gimmick as far as getting around
the spending. It's time for us to start acting responsible.'"
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'FURIOUS' REPORT CLEARS HOLDER, URGES ACTION VS. 14 JUSTICE OFFICIALS - Charlie Savage writes on A1 of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's inspector general on Wednesday issued a scathing critique of federal officials for their handling of the botched gun-trafficking case known as Operation Fast and Furious, but essentially exonerated Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., whom many Republicans have blamed for the scandal. In a long-awaited report, the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, laid primary blame on what he portrayed as a dysfunctional and poorly supervised group of Arizona-based federal prosecutors and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,
describing them as 'permeated' by 'a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment and management failures' that allowed a risky strategy to continue despite the danger to public safety. ...

-- "The 471-page report is likely to be the closest definitive accounting of the operation, which has been the source of continuing confrontation between Congressional Republicans and the Obama administration, including a House vote to cite Mr. Holder for contempt in June."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f7c58c4beb69a95d94c7a449e2f293452da07f0e2f68fbc03
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-- Yet House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is vowing to continue probing Fast and Furious and pursuing Holder's contempt of Congress citation in the courts, Roll Call's Jonathan Strong reports.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f584fcbb4fa95fea2a629cec728ee9eec4c977c767e29a7a9
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FISCAL CLIFF TALKS HEAT UP - Jake Sherman and Steven Sloan and Kelsey Snell report for POLITICO: "A jolt of reality is rippling through the Capitol as discussions over how to solve the so-called fiscal cliff are suddenly swinging into action. Leaders on both sides of the dome, in both parties, are meeting with key Obama administration officials on Capitol Hill, quietly mulling different legislative strategies to avoid massive tax hikes on all Americans. At the same time, lawmakers are beginning to carve out positions for their parties for what will become a months-long rhetorical and legislative war leading up to a series of year-end deadlines.

-- "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with both House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.). ... Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf spoke with the Senate Finance Committee in a closed, off-the-record meeting. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who chairs the Finance Committee, will hold separate calls with Geithner and Camp each week while Congress is in recess."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f28f1095e2cac5632e48ac72ad2769e1bdddfa44bc6ff1876
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SCHILLING WALKS OUT ON TOWN HALL - Liberal news site Progressive Illinois posts a video of GOP Rep. Bobby Schilling ditched his own town hall meeting after an employee at Sensata Technologies - which plans to ship jobs to China - asked the congressman whether he backs a bill to curb outsourcing. "When Tom Gaulrapp, one of the workers set to lose his job after working at the Bain Capital-owned company for 33 years, asked Schilling if he would support a bill that would offer companies tax incentives for bringing overseas jobs back to the U.S. and also close loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas, like the Bring American Jobs Home Act, Schilling refused to answer and
walked out of the meeting. But his campaign manager Terry Schilling essentially answered the question for the congressman by saying, 'He said no. He does not support the bill.'" Watch here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f8574ab9959a65c18b449c6f788063fafea77d6bb69399ab8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f8574ab9959a65c18b449c6f788063fafea77d6bb69399ab8

'DO-NOTHING' CHARGES FLY, DEMS FLUNK GOP - House Democrats will issue a scathing mock report card to "do-nothing House Republicans" this morning as lawmakers head for the exits and leave Washington until after the November election. Predictably, Democrats fail their GOP counterparts in subjects including Medicare, tax breaks, jobs and women. And they note that recessing on Friday is the earliest Congress has left to campaign since 1960.View the report card here:
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-- Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, at a news conference yesterday, blamed the "do-nothing Senate" for gridlock on Capitol Hill, saying the Democratic-controlled chamber has failed to act on House-passed jobs bills. House Speaker John Boehner today is marking the second anniversary of Republicans' "Pledge to America," their plan to create jobs, cut spending and reform Congress.
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THE ROGERS REPORT - "A six-month stopgap spending bill advanced in the Senate Wednesday, even as the House Republican leadership gave up the ghost of acting on any extension of the 2008 farm law, due to expire Sept. 30. In the case of the spending measure, 24 Senate Republicans joined Democrats on a 76-22 vote to limit debate and expedite passage by Congress - possibly as early as Thursday. Standing in the way still is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has insisted on a vote first on his amendment to withhold U.S. aid to Egypt, Libya and Pakistan in light of recent attacks on American diplomatic facilities and the imprisonment of a Pakistan physician accused of helping the CIA locate Osama bin
Laden. ...The White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are confident that Paul can be defeated with bipartisan support."
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QUICK READS

Republicans say Harry Reid's Mitt-bashing on the Senate floor broke the rules:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fef0b4d897222598037b92aaaec30bf2dc7492e04c05ad0bf
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Mounting medical bills have forced Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to sell his D.C. home:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f4e1853905a15624f80b37bb2d7f5439ba1f714034cc723a0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f4e1853905a15624f80b37bb2d7f5439ba1f714034cc723a0

McCain calls for congressional hearings on Teddy's losing streak:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f4875986fccf173fe4fdb86e459c20b8cabedba02587e0701
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**Access the most influential and powerful professionals in the country with POLITICO Jobs - the most effective way to reach and connect the right employers to the right professionals. With a focus on positions in politics, policy, advocacy, government contracting and communications, this one-stop employment source is the best way to find qualified candidates. Whether in print or online, post your job opening today on POLITICO Jobs:
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GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to
mailto:swong@politico.com
swong@politico.com . If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include but are not limited to @DaviSusan and @Kyle_Downey.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to hold a key procedural vote on the six-month continuing resolution to fund the government.

The House is in at 10 a.m. with first votes expected between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. and last votes between 4 and 5 p.m. on a resolution to block President Obama's welfare waivers, and a bill to increase the number of visas for foreign-born graduates with advanced science and math degrees. The chamber will also begin consideration of the Stop the War on Coal Act.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus address the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Annual Legislative Day at 8:45 a.m. in Dirksen 116. Both will speak at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation National Town Hall Meeting at 11:15 a.m. at the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW.

Rep. Walter Jones speaks on spending in Afghanistan at 10 a.m. in Rayburn B-318. Rep. Frederica Wilson speaks on anti-hazing legislation at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. Sen. John Kerry meets with Pakistan officials at 10 a.m. in S-116.House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a press availability at 10 a.m. in the RNC Lobby. Lawmakers hammer the first nail in the Inaugural platform at 10:45 a.m. in the Lower West Terrace. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders speak on the House's failure to act on Senate-passed legislation this Congress at noon in the Senate Studio. Sen. Jim DeMint discusses why Congress should block a federal bailout of
underfunded state pension systems at noon at the Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

Reps. John Culberson, Frank Wolf and Bill Posey speak on NASA funding at 1:30 p.m. in the House Triangle. Pelosi holds her weekly press briefing at 2:00 p.m.in HVC Studio A. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Mark Begich and Al Franken speak on Social Security at 2 p.m. in the Senate Studio.Pelosi, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, Sen.John McCain, and Rep. Joseph Crowley honor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at a National Endowment for Democracy ceremony at 3 p.m. in HC-5. Reps. Joe Heck and Jim Renacci speak on the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act at 4:30 p.m. at the House Triangle.

BERG'S BUSINESS TIES UNDER SCRUTINY IN N.D. SENATE RACE - John Bresnahan reports: "Republican Rep. Rick Berg, running for Senate in North Dakota, has close ties to a controversial property management company that has been the target of dozens of tenant complaints, been cited for alleged fire safety violations and received a less than stellar grade from the Better Business Bureau. Berg, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, personally owns apartment buildings run by Goldmark Property Management Inc., one of North Dakota's largest landlords. Employees of the firm and related companies, including business associates Berg has known for decades, have donated tens of thousands of dollars to
Berg and GOP committees to back his runs for federal office. Yet Berg does not, as alleged by Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, have any formal legal ties to or control over Goldmark Property Management. And even some Democrats have winced at her attempts to link the company's actions to proposals to change Social Security and other entitlement programs."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29fac015d74c5b6db6697a636ecdfd9e35970efd08a577d8fb3
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SUU KYI HONORED AT THE CAPITOL - The L.A. Times' Kathleen Hennessey and Danielle Ryan write: "Myanmar's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, met privately with President Obama after accepting Congress' highest honor in an emotional ceremony Wednesday, signs of the stunning shift in U.S. relations with the onetime pariah Asian nation over the last year. ... 'I stand here strong in the knowledge that I am among friends,' Suu Kyi said in the Capitol rotunda as she finally accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, which Congress awarded her in absentia in 2008 when she was still confined in Myanmar. The honor was 'a moment for which I have been waiting for many years,' Suu Kyi said.

-- "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who first met Suu Kyi at her lakeside home in Yangon in December, embraced her and praised her for 'moving from icon to politician' willing to work with her former jailers to help create civil institutions and democratic reforms. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speaking on the Senate floor, said Suu Kyi's story of courage 'is so powerful it's almost hard to believe it's all true.' 'This is a truly special day at the Capitol,' he said. 'It's been a long time coming.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f13be4ce3969853a0fb195892b2ae0a3588aaa25597cb875a
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-- McConnell will host Suu Kyi in his native Kentucky when she speaks at the University of Louisville on Monday. Other stops on her 17-day U.S. tour include Yale, Harvard and the University of San Francisco.

THOMAS GETS ONLINE OVERHAUL - Ashley Southall writes for the NYT: "The Library of Congress released a beta Web site on Wednesday that it says will replace its existing online catalogs in about a year. With beta.congress.gov, the Library will merge THOMAS, its main federal government page, with a resource repository called the Legislative Information System, once available only to members of Congress and their staffs. The revamped Web site incorporates user-friendly features like permanent Web addresses, Boolean search and a mobile platform to make finding and using legislative information 'more intuitive, comprehensive and accessible than the existing system,' an e-mail announcement from
the library said. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, said the changes 'reflect the Library's commitment to Congress's goal to open the legislative process to the American people and promote an informed democracy.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=009349ef6c23e29f05fe96f40551c4f1f4c352155a2e5722d04a8287f41e1202
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WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Nobody correctly answered yesterday's question, but Kirtan Mehta came close. Mehta, who works for Sen. Joe Manchin, said Manchin came to Rep. Shelley Moore Capito's home many years ago to install carpet. In fact, as Capito tells it, Manchin was working for his family's carpet business at the time "and he came to our home to measure our living room for new carpet."

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Switching subjects, Thomas Devaney asks: Who was the first president to shake hands with guests?First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
mailto:swong@politico.com
swong@politico.com .

WEATHER - Chilly this morning, but sunny and warm this afternoon, according to ABC7's Brian van de Graaff.

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