EMAIL DETAILS

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

BEVIN: McCONNELL OPERATION LIKE 'TAMMANY HALL' - James Hohmann catches up with the Republican leader and tea-party challenger Matt Bevin in Louisville, kicking off POLITICO's yearlong series from the road on the biggest races of 2014: "There was the time before he even jumped into the race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell when Bevin was warned he'd be shunned by fellow churchgoers once McConnell was finished making mincemeat of his reputation. Campaign trackers follow Bevin constantly, recording his every public utterance to turn the slightest slip into an attack ad or Web video. Vendors and consultants one day say they're ready to come on board only to ominously reverse
course the next, after mulling the repercussions of crossing McConnell.

-- "'I've had people who've said, 'You can use our donor list' or 'I'll come on with the campaign,'' Bevin said during a recent daylong campaign excursion around Louisville. 'Then all of a sudden they change their minds.' Some have told him they were warned 'it will be the last job you ever have in this business' if they joined his campaign, he said. 'It is thuggery,' Bevin added. 'It's literally like something out of Tammany Hall. It's dusting off Boss Tweed. I say bring it on.'

-- "Bevin realizes no party leader has ever gone down in a primary; he knows the prevailing wisdom in Washington is that he has no chance, and that his only purpose is to damage McConnell heading into a tough general election against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes. No incumbent has a bigger target on his back this year than McConnell - a host of tea party groups and the entire Democratic Party both want nothing more than to defeat him - and Bevin's performance could go a long way in determining whether the minority leader survives to serve a sixth term and possibly become majority leader. ...

-- "'I'm going to be the Republican nominee,' McConnell countered flatly last week, when asked about Bevin and criticism that the 71-year-old Republican leader isn't conservative enough for Kentucky GOP primary voters. Asked if he wanted to weigh in on Bevin's candidacy, McConnell said only: 'I don't.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c5628687edd39f8dcb785016b5b58fd2e87fc4214bc16b72f56
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c5628687edd39f8dcb785016b5b58fd2e87fc4214bc16b72f56 Slideshow by POLITICO's M. Scott Mahaskey:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c568854e5753ebf12339a06dac19aba35fa1a0dcaa0b1edd960
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c568854e5753ebf12339a06dac19aba35fa1a0dcaa0b1edd960

LEW TO BOEHNER: RAISE DEBT CEILING NEXT MONTH - Jake Sherman reports for POLITICO: "The Obama administration wants Congress to raise the debt limit in the next 16 days. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday, saying the best course of action would be for Congress to raise the nation's debt limit 'before February 7 to ensure orderly financing of the government.' At the latest, Lew writes, Congress must lift the cap by the end of February. ...There's not a ton of time. The House is out of session this week and in session for only two-and-a-half days next week. As of right now, there doesn't appear to be a plan to lift the debt limit."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56a61ef77415a201d3570a94d7a449be6e09c08871b13de08a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56a61ef77415a201d3570a94d7a449be6e09c08871b13de08a

SPEAKER BOEHNER debuts on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," joining fellow guests Matt LeBlanc and musician Dorian Holley, The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Kiesewetter writes. "Boehner will 'take to the 'Tonight Show' couch to discuss his background, life as Speaker of the House, and the latest news in Congress and politics,' NBC says." Leno's final "Tonight Show" is on Feb. 6.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56be548d93b343c2102eb71757e6184a77359c038c7e9c5f66
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56be548d93b343c2102eb71757e6184a77359c038c7e9c5f66

-- HUDDLE FIRST LOOK:HEADLINES -- House Democrats are poking fun at the speaker's appearance on Leno. In a spoof of a popular "Tonight Show" segment, the DCCC has created a video titled "Headlines the Speaker Doesn't Want to See," splicing together clips of Leno holding up real headlines that paint Republicans in a not-so-flattering light. "Poor kids should sweep floors for school lunches, says GOP Rep.," says one from the liberal Huffington Post. "Speaker Boehner's Republican Congress has spent the last year providing the country with headlines that make us laugh and cry.Laugh because they're unbelievable, and cry because they're true. " said the DCCC's Josh Schwerin."House Republicans
absurd record and actions will actually make you laugh, until you realize that they are running the country and trying to run the middle class into the ground." Watch here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56a5599f4689173d6069fc13c3ec37c6fe472a83ce81130905
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56a5599f4689173d6069fc13c3ec37c6fe472a83ce81130905

PEARCE: WIFE SHOULD 'VOLUNTARILY SUBMIT' TO HUSBAND -Aaron Blake writes for the Washington Post: "A Republican member of Congress says in a recently released book that a wife is to 'voluntarily submit' to her husband, but that it doesn't make her inferior to him. Rep. Steve Pearce's (R-N.M.) memoir, 'Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!' was released last month. Its publication -- and his acknowledgment in the book of the controversial nature of the submission debate -- come as the Republican Party reevaluates how it talks to and about women. ... In the book, the Vietnam War veteran says that both the military chain of command and the family unit need a structure in which everyone plays his
or her role. He said that, in his family's experience, this meant that his wife, Cynthia, would submit to him and he would lead.

-- "'The wife is to voluntarily submit, just as the husband is to lovingly lead and sacrifice,' he writes, citing the Bible. 'The husband's part is to show up during the times of deep stress, take the leadership role and be accountable for the outcome, blaming no one else.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56dfac0b2241102aac75db080e972f63ab6501c72e9d17734d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56dfac0b2241102aac75db080e972f63ab6501c72e9d17734d

VETERAN SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MONT.) will go before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 28, for his confirmation hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to China. A quick confirmation process could mean an earlier start to the Senate game of musical chairs: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is expected to replace Baucus as Finance Chairman, and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) will succeed Wyden in the top slot of the Energy Committee.

VITTER VS. LANDRIEU FOR GOVERNOR? - The Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky explores that possibility: "First, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat, faces reelection on Feb. 1. He's expected to roll to an easy win. 'If it's a landslide, he'll have to consider the governor's race,' says the operative. Second, there's Mary Landrieu's (they're brother and sister) reelection this fall. That's expected to be very close. If she loses and is out of a job, might she give it a shot? She and Vitter have the reputation of disliking each other more, maybe a lot more, than any other state's two U.S. senators. Landrieu v. Vitter for governor would be awesome."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c560c0a07b738c853a70522b760db69330986f919a1501ece4c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c560c0a07b738c853a70522b760db69330986f919a1501ece4c

TRANSITIONS - POLITICO's JONATHAN ALLEN, who you'll remember previously authored The Huddle, is leaving for Bloomberg News to cover the White House and Hillary Clinton's possible presidential bid. Colleagues and friends will toast him-- and his forthcoming book on Clinton -- at 6 tonight at The Pour House on Capitol Hill.

-- SEAN BARTLETT, senior communications officer with the UN Foundation, is heading back to the Hill to serve as communications director for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). Prior to the UN Foundation, where he leads the communications efforts of the Foundation's Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves initiative, Bartlett worked as press secretary for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and did political communications work with Hildebrand Tewes Consulting during the 2008 election cycle.

**A message from POWERJobs: Jobs on our radar this week: Commercial Regulatory Policy Representative at the National Association of Realtors, Government Affairs Associate at The American Waterways Operators, and Policy Analyst/Writer for AIPAC.Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c561bde391269ace28b83cae8d2dc438dcc0ea9900f3ef531ca
www.POWERJobs.com ; finally, a career site made for YOU!**

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, JAN. 23, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your-play-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. 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
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c563625b47e517960eba207d4dcbd2c42356f5f9afe95a00988
@gebemartinez and
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56a067016ef492969ddac876b4080696ffb8e3b08f087d5775
@MadameCAdams .

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Both the House and Senate are out this week for the January recess. They return the week of Jan. 27.

AT FRIGID MARCH, CANTOR VOWS ANTI-ABORTION VOTE - Zach Noble writes for the Washington Free Beacon: "They came from North Dakota and Kansas and closer to the nation's capital, bringing their signs, their voices, and, in many cases, their children as they braved single-digit weather to express their dearly-held belief: 'There is an unalienable right to life, and that right extends to the unborn.' So said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) speaking to the thousands of pro-life protesters who thronged the streets of Washington today for the 41st annual March for Life. ... Before marching to the steps of the Supreme Court, March for Life participants rallied on the Mall and heard from
pro-life leaders such as Cantor, Rep. Chris Smith (R., N.J.), and Dr. James Dobson. ...

-- "Pledging continued opposition to abortion, Cantor touted the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which he said would go to a vote in the House next week. 'Next week the House will vote to end once and for all taxpayer funding of abortions,' Cantor said. 'The people's House will stand for life.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c5684e99658c18a5572acaf24ed0bc85e3d73af049eb331a3eb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c5684e99658c18a5572acaf24ed0bc85e3d73af049eb331a3eb

WHIP McCARTHY: LEGALIZE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS -- Jose Gaspar reports for KBAK/KBFX in Bakersfield, Calif.: "Republican leaders, including House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, of Bakersfield, are calling for the first time to give legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The GOP leadership is in the process of drafting principles on immigration reform and will soon release a document that outlines the party's position on the politically sensitive and volatile issue. In a Tuesday evening interview with Eyewitness News, McCarthy said he is in favor of granting legal status to those undocumented immigrants who qualify. 'The principles aren't
written yet, but in my personal belief, I think it'll go with legal status that will allow you to work and pay taxes,' said McCarthy." Video and story here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56f2709aa7c53601ecf13b06ee60463e198b549ded7fbc252a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56f2709aa7c53601ecf13b06ee60463e198b549ded7fbc252a

... BUT REPUBLICANS are of different minds on immigration reform, writes Roll Call's Emma Dumain: "Are House Republicans prepared to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in 2014? It depends on whom you ask. 'It's a very bad time to do anything on this,' Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said. 'Something has to happen on immigration, and it's something we as a conference should take up,' countered Rep. Dennis A. Ross, R-Fla. 'I don't know,' Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., admitted with a shrug. 'It's hard to say.' Indeed, attempting to quantify the House Republican Conference's collective appetite for pursuing polarizing legislation in an election year is a virtually impossible task - one
that leaders have set for themselves as they head to their annual retreat starting Jan. 29 in Cambridge, Md."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564e1e57fc5434ac815e504f53d7859a178ebed1806961f7ea
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564e1e57fc5434ac815e504f53d7859a178ebed1806961f7ea

RAND PAUL IS THE 2016 GOP FRONTRUNNER, The Atlantic's Peter Beinart declares: "If Chris Christie was ever the frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, he isn't anymore. All along, the theory behind his candidacy was that he could overcome his lack of conservative bona fides with a combination of personality, competence, electability, and money. Bridgegate undermines all four. ... So if Christie is no longer the candidate to beat in the 2016 Republican race, who is? Believe it or not, it's Rand Paul. To understand the Kentucky senator's hidden strength, it's worth remembering this basic fact about the modern GOP: It almost never nominates first-time candidates. Since
1980, George W. Bush is the only first-timer to win a Republican nomination. And since Bush used the political network his father built, he enjoyed many of the benefits of someone who had run before. It's the same with Paul. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, he begins with an unparalleled infrastructure left over from his father Ron Paul's 2008 and 2012 campaigns."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56807b8efdd84dd705e9917a3aea2727e373b89b13f35dac6d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56807b8efdd84dd705e9917a3aea2727e373b89b13f35dac6d

REP. JARED POLIS (D-COLO.) has invited President Obama and Senate Majority Harry Reid to see how his state is implementing its new legalized marijuana laws, Matt Fuller writes for Roll Call: Polis "wants the two leaders to 'visit a regulated store and a growing operation with me to see our Colorado laws enforced. It'll only reinforce their emerging beliefs when see what we're doing in Colorado.' In a letter that will be sent on Thursday, Polis extends the invite and thanks Obama and Reid for their "recent comments regarding your shifting positions on the regulation and legalization of marijuana." Obama recently said marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol, and noted that minorities and
low-income populations are disproportionately affected by marijuana criminalization. Reid last week said, 'We waste a lot of time and law enforcement' on marijuana."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564afef11be54dedbdb34a70a57f723e2951c8e57e54bd825e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564afef11be54dedbdb34a70a57f723e2951c8e57e54bd825e

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - We have two of them today: Brett Halverson and Aaron Merkin correctly answer just seconds apart that the mother and wife of future President Theodore Roosevelt passed away on the same day, Valentine's Day, 1884.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - In honor of Sochi, Mark Rosenberg offer this question: Name two former Olympians who served in Congress? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
mailto:swong@politico.com
swong@politico.com .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564c4b419a22766147b3ff1ab0634a5cb86ab9f2cec1cf91de
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c564c4b419a22766147b3ff1ab0634a5cb86ab9f2cec1cf91de

**A message from
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c5600eaac061c0dcd9be88f5a24b6b140b8921517a6e26bf6e3
POWERJobs : Tap into the power of POWERJobs for the newest job opportunities in the Washington area from the area's top employers, including AARP, AIPAC and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Powered by names you trust - POLITICO, WTOP, WJLA/ABC-TV, NewsChannel 8 and Federal News Radio- POWERJOBS is the ultimate career site with more than 2 million job searches and nearly 17,000 applications submitted this year so far. Connect through Facebook or LinkedIn, search jobs by industry and set up job-specific email alerts using
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c561bde391269ace28b83cae8d2dc438dcc0ea9900f3ef531ca
www.POWERJobs.com , the site for Washington's top talent.**

Go to POLITICO Huddle Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56b2ff182d0bf8f301a07948a7613a0ff05822438ead69a8fb

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56279629c49d2d53c6e88f6edfe7af057dfa95319e99816870

=================================

2014 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Huddle.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52daadc60f481c56d490ea03e44ad7f109396af83eb18e008094bce92ea9d7ef

=================================