Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Progressives hit back on debt ceiling - Deace returns to the air - Christie released from hospital - Obama struggles with indies - Rand Paul cancels Iowa tour - Boehner denies payback
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 03:29:57 -0600

By Charles Mahtesian & Dan Hirschhorn & Emily Schultheis

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FIRST IN SCORE - PROGRESSIVES HIT BACK ON DEBT CEILING - A coalition of groups is going on the air today with an 8-state, six-figure ad buy slamming Republicans for threatening to put the country into default. Americans United for Change, SEIU, AFSCME and the National Education Association are teaming up for the buy, which runs through Monday. The targets: Sen. Dean Heller and GOP Reps. Eric Cantor, Lou Barletta, Steve King, Bobby Schilling, Chip Cravaack, Denny Rehberg and Ann Marie Buerkle. From the spot against Heller: "If Congress doesn't act by Tuesday, American won't be able to pay all of its bills. Social Security checks, veterans benefits, military - all could be at risk because
 Senator Dean Heller and Congressional Republicans want to protect tax breaks for millionaires, oil companies and corporate jets. So if the check you or your family depends on doesn't arrive, thank Senator Heller." See it here:
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POPPING IN IOWA - DEACE BACK ON THE AIR - Steve Deace, the Iowa conservative who helped shape the 2008 caucus campaign from his former perch at WHO radio, will announce Friday that he's returning to the airwaves as a nationally syndicated talk radio host. Deace, who left the Des Moines-based station WHO in February, will be syndicated by the Truth Radio Network and will broadcast over its Ames-area affiliate KTIA. His first show will be on Aug. 12, on the eve of the Ames presidential straw poll. According to an announcement shared with POLITICO, his show, "Steve Deace," has been picked up by stations in Richmond, Salt Lake City and Charlotte.
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CHRISTIE UPDATE - GOV RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was released from the Somerset Medical Center early Thursday evening after suffering an asthma attack. The 48-year-old had his state troopers take him there Thursday morning after experiencing lightheadedness and shortness of breath. At a press conference shortly after his release, Christie told reporters that he plans to work on his weight in the future to avoid similar incidents. The Star Ledger reports: "Christie, who has suffered from asthma since he was a teenager, said he used his 'rescue inhaler' that he keeps with him, when he began experiencing the onset of the asthma attack, but that this time was
 different because of the lightheadedness."
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POLL OF THE DAY - OBAMA FALLING -- A new Pew Research Center poll shows President Obama in a much weaker position than he was two months ago. Obama polled just 1 point ahead of a generic Republican challenger, compared with the 11-point lead he had in May. "This shift is driven by a steep drop-off in support for Obama among independents," reports Pew. Just 31 percent of independents said they'd vote for Obama, compared with 42 percent in May. A majority of independents - 54 percent - now disapprove of Obama's job performance.
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SEE ALSO - MICHIGAN INDY TROUBLE - A Michigan survey released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling found Obama approval rating among independents at 41 percent, compared to 53 percent who disapproved.
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***As Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann don't sweat the debt deadline, Rand Paul sends his regrets and Jon Huntsman discovers his other base, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

THE DEBT FIGHT - STATE OF PLAY: POLITICO reports: "John Boehner faces the biggest test of his speakership Friday morning as he tries to resuscitate a monumental debt-limit bill that was forced from the floor Thursday night because Republican leaders hadn't lined up enough votes to pass it...Republican leaders hoped to put the bill back on the floor Friday, either in its current form or in a slightly altered state, and some in the GOP worried that Thursday night's failure to move the bill could disrupt markets...He'll address his troops at 10 a.m. Friday in a closed meeting in the basement of the Capitol."
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THE DEADLINE - BACHMANN, PERRY NOT WORRIED - At her National Press Club speech Thursday afternoon, Michele Bachmann told reporters that she has "no doubt" the problem will be figured out, even though she won't vote to increase the debt ceiling. "I want to state unequivocally for the world, as well as for the markets, as well as for the American people: I have no doubt that we will not lose the full faith and credit of the United States," she said. Rick Perry told reporters in Texas that the debt talks are just "political theater." "I think this threat that somehow or another the world is going to come to an end and the threat of 'we're not going to be able to pay our bills' is a bit of a
 stretch," he said.
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OPPO MYSTERY - INTERNS HOUNDED -- Simon Conway, host of the Iowa radio station WHO, claimed in an interview with Pawlenty that "people associated with your campaign have been called kids who interned for Michele Bachmann, asking them to go on the record with inside information." Pawlenty denied the charges, and a spokesman said Thursday that the campaign has "no idea" what Conway was talking about. "We've asked Simon repeatedly since that exchange for more information about whatever he was talking about, and he's unwilling or unable to provide it. It appears he was misled or at a minimum had bad information," he said.
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NOT POPPING IN IOWA - RAND CANCELS - Sen. Rand Paul won't be in the Hawkeye State this weekend to campaign for his dad after all, calling off the trip because of the ongoing debt ceiling debate in Washington. "Naturally we understand that Sen. Paul is required be in Washington for a critically important vote on the debt ceiling," Ron Paul's Iowa campaign chairman Drew Ivers said. "I'm sure Sen. Paul's supporters are disappointed by not being able to see him due to this postponement, but it is far more important to have a strong taxpayer advocate in the Senate for this crucial vote."

SHOTS FIRED - PALIN WARNS HOUSE FRESHMEN -Sarah Palin is watching how freshmen Republican vote on the debt ceiling, and she wants them to know it. In a Facebook message, she asks them to "remember us 'little people; who believed in them, donated to their campaigns, spent hours tirelessly volunteering for them, and trusted them with our votes." Her close: "P.S. Everyone I talk to still believes in contested primaries."
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PERRY CAN PRAY: Rick Perry is free to participate in his Aug. 6 Day of Prayer and Fasting event - The Response, as it's billed. That's what a district court in Houston ruled, striking down a lawsuit that tried to stop Perry from taking part on the grounds that it violated the separation of church and state. ABC News reports: "'This is a tremendous victory for the First Amendment, and the right of any and all Americans to assemble and pray without interference from forces hostile to faith,' Eric Bearse, spokesman for the Response, said. ... The plaintiff's attorney said they may appeal the ruling."
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PERRY'S COLORADO TEST: From the Texas Tribune: "Rick Perry's name won't appear on the key Iowa Straw Poll ballot next month, but he'll face a test of his strength among Western conservatives this weekend in Denver. Organizers of the Western Conservative Summit have put Perry on a straw poll ballot along with other major announced and unannounced candidates...'With all the signals from Gov. Perry that there may be an announcement in August, we thought he belonged in the poll,' said John Andrews, chief organizer of the event. 'The sense here in Colorado among political observers is that Perry is almost in.' More than 900 people who paid to attend the event will get to cast votes in the straw
 poll, with the results expected to be announced Sunday."
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BACHMANN CALLS FOUL - MARCUS OFF LIMITS - Speaking at the National Press Club Thursday, Michele Bachmann tried to place her husband Marcus - and his controversial gay therapy practices - outside the realm of campaign fodder. POLITICO'S Molly Ball: "'I'm extremely proud of my husband. I have tremendous respect and admiration for him,' Bachmann said as he beamed at her from his seat on the dais - she noted that the couple will celebrate 33 years of marriage in September. 'But I am running for the presidency of the United States. My husband is not running for the presidency. Neither are my children, neither is our business, neither is our foster children,' she said."
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HUNTSMAN SWARMED...BY CHINESE TOURISTS - Standing outside the White House and Treasury to conduct an interview with Fox host Greta Van Susteren, Jon Huntsman was mobbed by a group of starstruck Chinese tourists. See the video here:
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WHAT THE 2012 CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Tim Pawlenty begins his day in Council Bluffs on his Iowa RV tour and finishes on Florida's Gulf Coast, where he'll speak at the Pasco County Republican Party's Reagan Day Dinner. BothGary Johnson andJon Huntsman will deliver addresses to the College Republican National Committee in Washington; Huntsman gives the keynote Friday night.Rick Perry andRick Santorum will be in Denver at the Western Conservative Summit.

PERRY'S PUNCHING BAG - CALIF. STEAMS - California doesn't appreciate the business poaching, or playing the foil in Rick Perry's standard speech about Texas as the new land of opportunity. "It's a bit like Dukakis' 'Massachusetts Miracle,' which turned out to be a partial truth," California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer told Capitol Weekly. "There's some Perry puffery going on right now."
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MEANWHILE IN FLORIDA - SENATE STANDOFF - Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who abruptly dropped out of the GOP Senate race last week, slammed a former opponent and said he was still hoping for "a principled and trusted conservative" to get in the race."I can tell you one thing: I will not be supporting Adam Hasner for the Senate," Haridopolos said.
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HOUSE TALKER - BOEHNER DENIES PAYBACK - POLITICO'S Alex Isenstadt follows up on reported tensions between House Speaker John Boehner to Republican Study Committee chair Jim Jordan. Boehner "is denying a report that he's looking to exact political payback on Rep. Jim Jordan, a fellow Ohio Republican who has vigorously criticized Boehner's plan to lift the nation's debt ceiling. 'Jim Jordan and I may not always agree on strategy, but we are friends and allies, and the word retribution is not in my vocabulary,' Boehner said in a statement. 'I look forward to continuing to serve with him in the U.S. House after the redistricting process in Ohio is complete, and for many years to come.'"
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JOE WALSH - SOON-TO-BE DIRECT MAIL STAR - One day after detonating "Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh sued for $100,000 in child support," the Chicago Sun-Times took another run at the GOP freshman with a scathing editorial titled, "Joe Walsh has a loud voice, but nothing to say." Walsh fought back Thursday, calling the original report "a hit piece" that was timed to distract from his leading role in the debate over raising the nation's debt limit. "It is not lost on me that a court case filed almost 8 months ago regarding a marriage that ended more than 8 years ago would be brought up today," he said in a statement. "I am the tip of the spear in this current debate, and I will be attacked."
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: On the challenges of being a Barack Obama supporter in Louisiana: "Where I live it's socially dangerous, no doubt about that," said Alvin Burstein, a retired psychoanalyst in Mandeville. "To say something nice about Obama is like farting in church."
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