In a boost for proponents of comprehensive immigration reform, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the immigration bill currently being debated in the Senate would increase the U.S. population by 10.4 million and would decrease federal budget deficits by $197 billion between 2014 and 2023.

The much-anticipated report indicates that enacting the legislation would create new federal outlays of about $262 billion in the first decade but would increase revenues – largely from new income and payroll taxes – by $459 billion.

It also estimates that about 8 million undocumented immigrants would initially gain legal status under the bill’s provisions.

While the CBO does not typically provide estimates beyond the first decade of enactment, the report tackled estimates for the time period of 2024-2033, estimating that the federal budget deficits would decrease by an additional $700 billion over that time. By 2033, the net increase to the U.S. population as a result of the bill's enactment would be about 16 million, CBO says. 

The positive estimates are a boon for proponents of the reform effort, who argue that immigration is an economic imperative for the country as well as a moral and political one.

Bill sponsor Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the report "a huge momentum boost for immigration reform." 

The White House also lauded the CBO report, saying the numbers are "more proof that bipartisan commonsense immigration reform will be good for economic growth and deficit reduction."

And Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has worked to woo conservative support for the bill, said in a statement that the report "further confirmed what most conservative economists have found: reforming our immigration system is a net benefit for our economy, American workers and taxpayers." 

Opponents of the bill argue the influx of new foreign workers would hurt Americans still affected by joblessness. 

The Senate is currently debating the legislative language of the bill offered by the bipartisan "Gang of Eight."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he wants a final vote on the bill in the upper chamber by the July 4 recess. 

But lawmakers are still making amendments to the legislation, which many Republicans say cannot survive to the president's desk without substantial changes to its border security provisions. 

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:08 PM EDT

The Republican-controlled House passed legislation Tuesday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, offering social conservatives a symbolic victory even as the bill is all but certain not to become law.

The vote was 228-196, with six Democrats and all but six Republicans voting for the measure.

But the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, has virtually no chance of becoming law, with the Democratic-led Senate certain to ignore it and the White House threatening in scathing language to veto it.

The bill, called the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks, unless the life of the mother is at risk. The legislation cites studies which indicate that a fetus feels pain starting at this gestational threshold; supporters of the bill say this medical research dictates that these fetuses should therefore not be aborted.

The vote came after Republicans – facing criticism over an alleged gaffe by bill sponsor Franks - altered their strategy to argue to bill, sidelining the Arizona lawmaker as the leader of the debate in favor of highlighting Republican women who support the ban.

House leaders also added language to the legislation last week after Franks stated that “the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.” Democrats compared that assertion to one made by then-Senate candidate Todd Akin, who suggested last year that women who are victims of “legitimate rape” often experience a physical, biological reaction to the trauma, preventing pregnancy.

Under the changed bill, pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest -- and are reported to authorities -- are excluded from the ban.

The vote also comes in the wake of a murder conviction for Kermit Gosnell, an abortion provider found guilty of murder for performing illegal late-term abortions.

Responding to criticism Tuesday that the House should be focused on economic issues instead of the largely symbolic abortion vote, Republican House Speaker John Boehner pointed to the Gosnell trial as evidence that taking up the abortion ban is warranted.

“After this Kermit Gosnell trial and some of the horrific acts that were going on, the vast majority of the American people believe in the substance of this bill and so do I,” he said.

And Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., argued on the House floor that the bill would send the "clearest possible message to the American people that we do not support more Gosnell-like abortions."

While the vote offered a chance for members from socially conservative districts to flex their political muscles, some moderate Republicans grumbled about the leadership’s decision to hold a vote on a controversial measure with no chance of going beyond the House.

“I think a lot of people are shaking their heads and not understanding why we’re doing this,” said one GOP official, who added that votes on hot-button social issues don’t help the party maintain much-needed Republican seats in moderate districts.

Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania bluntly told The New York Times that the vote is “a stupid idea.”

“The economy is on everybody’s minds. We’re seeing stagnant job numbers. Confidence in the institution, in government, is eroding,” said Dent, a moderate whose southeastern Pennsylvania district only narrowly voted for Romney last year after voting for President Barack Obama in 2008. “And now we’re going to have a debate on rape and abortion.”

Last year, the House considered a similar piece of legislation that achieved the same ban, but applied only to the District of Columbia and did not include the exception for rape or incest. That bill achieved a simple majority (220-154), but ultimately failed because it needed a two-thirds majority for passage.

Last week, the White House made clear that it would veto the legislation, calling it an “assault” on women’s rights and a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s rulings.

“Forty years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose,” the administration said in a statement. “This bill is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and shows contempt for women's health and rights, the role doctors play in their patients' health care decisions, and the Constitution.”

NBC’s Jessica Taylor and Frank Thorp contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:15 PM EDT

House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that he does not “see any way” of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that does not have backing from a majority of the House’s GOP members, calling the border security provisions in the measure currently making its way through the Senate “weak” and “laughable.” 

Comprehensive immigration reform must – in some fashion – run through the United States House, and Boehner’s statement further complicates what is already a delicate process of compromise as proponents of the bill navigate political landmines on both sides of the Capitol dome. And the willingness of House Republicans to sign on to any reform efforts remains a large question mark. 

“I don't see any way of bringing an immigration bill to the floor that doesn't have a majority support of Republicans,” Boehner said during a press briefing with reporters Tuesday.

“I frankly think the Senate bill is weak on border security, I think the internal enforcement mechanisms are weak and the triggers are almost laughable,” he said of the bill drafted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Republican Sens. Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Jeff Flake. “So if they're serious about getting an immigration bill finished, they should reach out to their GOP colleagues to broaden support.” 

Proponents of the “Gang of Eight” bill currently being debated in the Senate have hoped that – if it garners a strong bipartisan vote for passage in the Senate – Boehner would be under enormous political pressure to bring it to the House floor for a vote. 

Republicans in the Senate, including Rubio, have pushed for additional border security provisions that could make their bill more palatable to the Republican-led House. But Democratic leaders argue that those attempting to make the bill’s “path to citizenship” contingent on the completion of stringent border provisions are hoping to derail the legalization process for undocumented immigrants. 

So far, the major GOP border security amendments voted upon in the Senate so far have failed to garner enough support to be adopted; a proposal by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.  to build a 700-mile border fence before undocumented immigrants can obtain green cards failed 39-54 Tuesday afternoon. 

Speaking to reporters before that vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he believes popular support for the immigration measure will prevail. 

"No matter what he [Boehner] has said, there's going to be significant national pressure on the House to do something on immigration," he said. 

But on Tuesday, Boehner accused Democrats of seeking to sabotage the legislation. 

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) meets with members of the press to answer questions at the U.S. Capitol June 12, 2013 in Washington, DC.

“I'm increasingly concerned that the White House and Senate Democrats would rather have this as an issue in the 2014 election rather than a result,” he said. 

Last week, Boehner told reporters that he would not bring a bill to the floor that violates the “principles” of the Republican Party. His harsh description of the legislation Tuesday made clear that he believes the Senate bill as written would be such a violation.

House committees are currently working through individual pieces of immigration legislation that are less sweeping than the Senate bill. The lower chamber will convene a special conference to discuss immigration reform next month.

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 18, 2013 11:06 AM EDT

Obama at the G-8: It could have been worse… Germany visit: 2013 vs. 2008… Obama on Syria, NSA surveillance, and Bernanke… McCaskill backs “Ready for Hillary” Super PAC… House to vote on abortion ban… Biden to talk gun control… Not-so Great Scott… And revenge is a dish best served … by running for office. 

*** It could have been worse: As President Obama today wraps up his G-8 meetings in Northern Ireland before heading to Germany later this afternoon, it’s safe to say that this hasn’t been a very successful overseas trip for President Obama. At least so far. He was hoping to get a big show of early support on a free-trade agreement with Europe (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), but he got some pushback (especially from France). And regarding Syria, there wasn’t much of an agreement on anything, especially from Russia. Of course, it could have been worse -- the U.S. will still host the first round of talks on the trade partnership next month in DC, and Obama’s meeting with Putin was at least cordial (yet still awkward). At least Putin didn’t make any cannibal references while sitting next to the president. That said, the White House is hoping to turn things around with a successful speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany tomorrow. But even that seems like an uphill climb. Der Spiegel doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Obama like they did in 2008.

Ian Langsdon / AP

President Barack Obama, left, and French President Francois Hollande attend a round table meeting of G-8 member countries at the G-8 Summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013.

*** 2013 vs. 2008: NBC’s Andy Eckhart notes:  “Germany meets the superstar" was the headline on the cover of Der Spiegel weekly before his visit during the 2008 campaign. Some 200,000 Germans cheered him on. In this most recent issue of Der Spiegel, Eckhart notes the cover features Obama in Kennedy’s shadow with the tagline, „The Lost Friend“ and then it has an „angst-ridden report about fraying ties. "Kennedy's visit to Berlin was an almost ecstatic celebration of a protective alliance," it wrote. But it said nearly 70 years after World War II and two decades after the end of European communism, "the trip of (JFK's) no-less-charismatic successor will likely be a prosaic family gathering." Commentators note that Germans, like other ardent Obama supporters, are frustrated by impasses on slowing climate change and closing Guantanamo Bay prison.“ Needless to say, expectations are a LOT lower for Obama’s reception in Germany than they were five years ago. 

*** Obama on Syria: So what did we learn from Obama’s Charlie Rose interview from last night? Well, he outlined his Syria policy (or as some argue, his non-policy) a bit more. “We know what it's like to rush into a war in the Middle East without having thought it through. And there are elements within the Middle East who see this entirely through the prism of a Shia-Sunni conflict and want the United States to simply take the side of the Sunnis,” he said. “And that I do not think serves American interests.” He went on to say, “And we have a legitimate need to be engaged and to be involved. But for us to do it in a careful calibrated way sometimes is unsatisfying, because what people really typically want is a clean solution, a silver bullet, ‘Here's what we're going to do,’ and we just move forward.”

*** Obama on NSA surveillance: In his interview with Charlie Rose, the president also commented on the controversies surrounding the NSA surveillance programs. “The way I view it, my job is both to protect the American people and to protect the American way of life which includes our privacy,” he said. “And so every program that we engage in, what I've said is ‘Let's examine and make sure that we're making the right tradeoffs.’” He went on to say, “If you're a U.S. person, then NSA is not listening to your phone calls and it's not targeting your emails unless it's getting an individualized court order.” Obama’s comments came as a new Pew poll shows that Americans are split on the NSA surveillance story, with 49% saying that Edward Snowden’s release of the classified information serves the public interest, versus 44% who say it harms the public interest. (Strikingly, younger people strongly say that the NSA leak serves the public interest, which might not be that surprisingly given that the younger generation has a greater expectation that things are more open and transparent.) Also today, the House Intelligence Committee holds an open hearing at 10:00 am ET with NSA Director Keith Alexander. 

*** Obama closer than ever to replacing Bernanke? Perhaps the biggest news that Obama made in the Charlie Rose interview was that Ben Bernanke isn’t going to serve another term as Fed chairman. Why? Because Obama spoke of his service in the past tense. ROSE: “Some people would like to see you announce that you are reappointing Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Fed.” OBAMA: “Well, I think Ben Bernanke's done an outstanding job. Ben Bernanke's a little bit like Bob Mueller, the head of the FBI where he's already stayed a lot longer than he wanted or he was supposed to.” ROSE: “But if he wanted to be reappointed, you would reappoint him?” OBAMA: “He has been an outstanding partner along with the White House, in helping us recover much stronger than, for example, our European partners, from what could have been an economic crisis of epic proportions.”  

*** McCaskill backs “Ready for Hillary” group: In 2016 news today, the group “Ready for Hillary” announced the support of Sen. Claire McCaskill, whom it says is the first member of Congress to get on board of the Super PAC that’s supporting Hillary’s candidacy (though that doesn’t have official ties with the former Secretary of State). It’s also notable because McCaskill was an early Obama supporter in ’08. This McCaskill news comes after former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has been assisting Ready for Hillary, too. One thing that was clear to us yesterday, there seems to be a concerted effort to recruit prominent Democratic women early to Hillary’s side. That said, let’s everybody take a deep breath and realize, the only “news” a top Democratic official can make now about 2016 is announcing their intention NOT to support Clinton.  At this point, announcing support for her is not exactly NEWS. 

*** House to vote on abortion ban: Remember when, right after the 2012 election, Republican establishment types wanted to move beyond abortion and the culture war? Well, months later House Republicans today hold a vote on a measure that would prohibit abortion after 20-22 weeks of pregnancy. The New York Times: “Aware of the risks inherent in abortion politics, Republican leaders have moved to insulate themselves from Democrats’ criticism that they are opening a new front in the “war on women.” Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, will manage the debate on the bill when it reaches the House floor, a role that would customarily go to the sponsor, Representative Trent Franks of Arizona. And in a last-minute revision, House leaders slipped in a provision that would allow for a limited exception in cases of rape or incest, but only if the woman had reported the crime.” Those limited exceptions come after Franks drew criticism for saying that the incidents of pregnancy from rape were “very low.” Per NBC’s Frank Thorp, the vote takes place around 6:00 pm ET. 

*** Biden to talk gun control: Meanwhile, at 1:00 pm ET, Vice President Biden delivers remarks on reducing gun violence. But after the administration’s defeat on the Senate background-check vote, Biden’s focus will be on the executive orders that the administration has pursued on guns. “Senior administration officials said the vice president will deliver a ‘progress report’ touting completion of a slew of executive actions — including writing emergency management plans for schools and churches and training police to respond to active shooters,” the Washington Post reports. “Sure, these steps might make communities safer and better prepared to respond to gun violence. But, gun-control advocates said, they are baby steps that do relatively little to prevent the next mass shooting.” More: “Biden plans to announce that the administration has completed or made significant progress in 21 of 23 executive actions first rolled out on Jan. 16, according to senior administration officials.” 

*** (Not so) Great Scott: Folks, the fact that this new Quinnipiac poll is being touted as good news for incumbent Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) shows just how endangered he is come 2014. Yes, his approval rating has increased from 36% to 43% from 36%. And, yes, he’s now trailing Charlie Crist by 10 points (47%-37%) instead of 16 (50%-34%) in a hypothetical gubernatorial match up. But those are rough, rough numbers for a politician facing re-election next year. You never want to see your approval rating below 45%, and you never want your ballot number to be in the 30s… 

*** Revenge is a dish best served … by running for office: After it became pretty clear that Senate Republicans wouldn’t allow Elizabeth Warren to officially head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Warren decided to run for the U.S. Senate, and she beat incumbent Republican Scott Brown. (It raises the question if Brown might still be in the Senate if Republicans had been willing to accept her appointment.) And now Donald Berwick -- who headed Medicare and Medicaid for the Obama administration as a recess appointee but who never even received a Senate confirmation hearing -- is following the Elizabeth Warren route. Yesterday, he announced he was running for Massachusetts’ open gubernatorial seat in 2014 as a Democrat. In addition, it’s possible that Richard Cordray, Obama’s recess appointment at the CFPB, could run for Ohio governor. As one plugged in Hill Democrat emails us, “Remember, there’s historic precedent for blocked nominees seeking revenge through future elected office.  If things had gone differently in the 80s, Jeff Sessions would currently be toiling as an obscure federal judge in Alabama, not leading the charge against the immigration bill.”   

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*** Tuesday’s “The Daily Rundown” line-up: The latest from the G8 with one of us… another one of us (!!!) with the political developments happening at home while the president is abroad… The Boston Globe’s Matt Viser on the final debate tonight in the final week of the Markey-Gomez fight… Plus former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R-MD), Aisha Moodie-Mills of the Center for American Progress and CQ Roll Call’s David Hawkings join the Gaggle.

*** Tuesday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: Guests include Sen. Tom Udall/(D) New Mexico on NSA spying controversy and President Obama’s plan to arm the Syrian rebels, Jackie Kucinich/The Washington Post and Chris Frates/National Journal on the politics of the NSA story, Rep. Steve Israel/(D) New York – Chairman of DCCC on vote today on House Republican abortion ban bill, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto and Rick Tyler on Immigration reform bill, Howard Bragman on the future of NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg after he leaves office and David Chiu/San Francisco Board of Supervisors on his proposal to mandate that San Francisco businesses consider offering flex-time schedules for workers

*** Tuesday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: Fill-in Host Craig Melvin will interview Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the woman leading the floor debate on the GOP’s 20-week abortion ban.  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will discuss President Obama’s defense of the NSA surveillance program.  Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will talk about V.P. Biden’s new push on gun control.   Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) will discuss the new bill she is co-sponsoring on military sex assaults.  Today’s Agenda Panel includes:  Political Wire Editor Taegan Goddard and ThinkProgress Editor-in-Chief Judd Legum.

*** Tuesday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include former Gov. Ed Rendell, The Nation’s Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Demos’ Bob Herbert, New York Magazine contributing editor Benjamin Wallace-Wells, and Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards. 

*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen, former Deputy Director of CIA’s Counterterrorism Center Philip Mudd, The New Yorker’s George Packer, The Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter, Cosmopolitan Editor-in chief Joanna Coles and The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza.

*** Tuesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Rep. James Clyburn, NARAL director of Public Affairs Samantha Gordon, Investigative crime reporter Michele Sigona, and Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis.

Here’s President Obama’s interview with Charlie Rose. It ranged from Syria and Iran to China and the NSA.

On Syria: “We know what it’s like to rush into a war in the Middle East without having thought it through.”

On Iran: "I do think that there's a possibility that they decide - the Iranians decide - to take us up on our offer to engage in a more serious substantive way," Obama said.

On China: “We had a very blunt conversation about cyber security.”

On the NSA, Obama said it “cannot and have not” listened to phone calls and “not targeting” phone calls, emails unless they get a warrant.

Asked if the program should be transparent, Obama claimed, “It is transparent, that’s why we set up the FISA court.” (Depends on your definition of transparency then.) 

The Hill: “President Obama defended his administration’s domestic surveillance programs on Monday, arguing he has not abandoned freedom and is not just ‘Bush-Cheney lite.’ In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, Obama argued it’s a ‘false choice’ to suggest freedom must be sacrificed to achieve security, a phrasing that echoes comments he made on the campaign trail in 2008. ‘To say there’s a tradeoff doesn’t mean somehow that we’ve abandoned freedom,’ Obama said.” 

Obama defended U.S. action (or inaction) in Syria, per NBC’s Mike O’Brien: “[T]his argument that somehow we had gone in earlier, or heavier in some fashion, that the tragedy and chaos taking place in Syria wouldn’t be taking place, I think is wrong.”

The Hill: “President Obama failed on Monday to resolve disagreements with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the proper international response to Syria's civil war.

Obama vowed after the two-hour meeting to not let his “differing perspectives” with Putin get in the way of closer cooperation on counter-terrorism, arms control and other issues.”

“President Barack Obama brought a campaigner’s mindset to the White House — but the roll-out of Obamacare marks the first time he’s adapted his campaign’s groundbreaking grassroots tactics to the task of turning policy into reality,” Politico writes. “A trio of Obama’s most experienced campaign operatives — one in the West Wing, two others in outside groups closely allied with Obama — are overseeing an effort to ensure that the Affordable Care Act, the president’s biggest legacy project, doesn’t turn into the failure the GOP predicts it will be.”

David Hawkings: “States may not demand proof of citizenship from people registering to vote, the Supreme Court ruled by a decisive 7-2 today. The majority signaled it would also be ready to strike down any requirement tougher than what’s set out in the 1993 federal “motor voter” law, which was designed by Congress to simplify registration. The decision, and the language behind it, is therefore a significant victory for mainstream Democrats, who want to expand access to the polls in part because they’re confident they’ll win most of the new voters. And it’s a defeat for mainstream Republicans, who express intense concern about the potential for election fraud but also know that polls show them doing poorly among groups underrepresented on the rolls — ethnic minorities, immigrants and older people.”

The court reconvenes Thursday and has 14 more decisions to hand down dealing with issues ranging from gay rights to affirmative action to voting rights.

But Ted Cruz says he’s not giving up the fight. In a tweet after the decision: “I'll file amendment to immigration bill that permits states to require ID before registering voters & close this hole in fed statutory law.” 

“The White House is reporting progress on President Barack Obama’s initiatives to reduce gun violence, but says the most important step would be getting a reluctant Congress to pass new firearms laws,” AP writes. “Vice President Joe Biden was announcing Tuesday that the administration has completed or significantly advanced 21 of the 23 executive actions that Obama ordered in January in response to the Connecticut elementary school shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six staff members.”

Lindsey Graham’s losing patience with Marco Rubio. "How do we put together a bill and then the guy who put it together says that he may not vote for it?" Graham told The Huffington Post. "I just don't get what we're doing here."

“The Republican-led House will take its deepest dive yet into immigration reform this week, rushing to play catchup with the Senate on the chief domestic policy battle this year,” Politico writes. “The House bipartisan group, which has labored for four years without releasing anything, is finally on the verge of producing a bill. The House Judiciary Committee is holding its first immigration markup on Tuesday on an enforcement-centered bill that Democrats abhor. And the all-Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus will huddle with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday, and immigration will undoubtedly be a hot topic.”

National Journal: “John Boehner wants immigration reform to pass. To get it done, the House speaker will have to capitalize on the widening gap among conservatives, and he’s preparing the groundwork to do it. The rare split inside the conservative wing of Boehner’s Republican conference offers him an uncommon opportunity to bring a bill to the floor without facing an insurrection among his members. It also means convincing enough conservatives that passing some immigration measure won’t be preamble to the Senate using compromise negotiations to jam a more liberal version down the House’s throat.”

“The abortion wars return to Congress in a big way with House legislation to ban almost all abortions after a fetus reaches the age of 20 weeks,” AP writes. “The legislation expected to pass the Republican-controlled House as early as Tuesday has no chance of becoming law in the near future: The Democratic-led Senate will ignore it and the White House has issued a veto threat. But the measure gives social conservatives a rare chance to promote their anti-abortion agenda and lays the groundwork for what could be a future challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court decision that confirmed a woman’s right to late-term abortions.”

Roll Call: “The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., and intended to be ‘scored’ by the National Right to Life Committee, is based on the belief held by some medical experts that the fetus can begin to experience pain after the 20-week threshold. As originally written, the bill would hold physicians accountable to the law for performing an abortion after that threshold and would provide exemptions only when the pregnancy poses a life-threatening risk to the mother.”

DGA memo: “Today, House Republicans are poised to vote for an extreme ban on abortions after 22 weeks. But, with a Democratic president and Senate, House Republicans’ efforts will be in vain. Unfortunately for American women, the debate in the states—particularly those with Republican governors—isn’t just about political posturing. Whether it’s in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kansas, New Jersey, or one of several other GOP-helmed states, a woman’s right to make critical decisions about her own health is being taken away at a disturbing rate.”

The DSCC is taking aim on student loans: As July 1st quickly approaches, Paul Broun, Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey continue to put special interests ahead of Georgia’s students and middle class families by siding with House Republicans to charge more for college loans. Champions of obstruction and gridlock in Washington, Broun, Gingrey and Kingston opposed freezing current student loan rates by refusing to sign a petition that would bring a bill directly to the floor that would prevent student loan rates from doubling, while at the same time backing the House Republican plan that would immediately raise interest rates for some students and make college more expensive for students across the country.”

The Hill: “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is roiling the Senate immigration debate by offering several amendments that could give him an edge in a future Republican presidential primary. Paul, who could square off against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), one of the bill’s primary authors, in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, is taking aim at three of the most controversial areas of the bill, according to Senate aides familiar with the measures.” 

And here was Paul on Edward Snowden… Politico: “Sen. Rand Paul described NSA leaker Edward Snowden a ‘civil disobedient’ and noted that others protesting the government like Martin Luther King Jr. had only faced short jail terms.”

Paul said: “On deciding when you decide to become a civil disobedient - we’ve had famous ones in our career, but some of them only had to serve, like [Henry David] Thoreau only had to serve one day in jail, Martin Luther King served 30 days in jail. [Snowden] may be looking at life in prison. … People are saying, ‘Oh, he ought to just come home.’ But I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad idea if he’s facing life in prison.” 

Chaser: A majority believe Snowden should be prosecuted, per Pew: “54% of the public – including identical majorities of Republicans and Democrats (59% each) – say the government should pursue a criminal case against the person responsible for leaking the classified information about the program. Young people, by 60% to 34%, think that the NSA leak serves the public interest. Americans 30 and older are divided (46% serves vs. 47% harms). And while those younger than 30 are divided over whether Snowden should be prosecuted, majorities in older age groups favor the government pursuing a criminal case against him.”

“Speaker John A. Boehner faces one of his first big leadership tests of the year as he brings a farm bill to the floor this week amid opposition from a host of powerful conservative advocacy groups that have frequently bedeviled his speakership,” Roll Call writes. “It is uncommon for a speaker to pledge to vote for a bill, and the Ohio Republican’s promise last week to do so on the farm bill is even rarer, given that he has not voted for a farm bill since 1996.” 

The Hill: “A group of House Democrats has proposed legislation that would require companies around the country to give workers two hours of paid time off in order to vote in federal elections.”

It’s pot lobby day… “Legalization activists young and old will fan out across the Capitol on June 17 as part of Federal Marijuana Lobby Day, a pro-pot push poised to include food, booze and pep talks from sympathetic policymakers,” Roll Call writes. “Silver Tour founder Robert Platshorn, a convicted drug trafficker cum reform advocate — ‘I caught the first kingpin charge for marijuana,’ he shared, having served three decades of a whopping 64-year sentence — is bringing busloads of senior citizens who are interested in medical marijuana along for the congressional tour.”

Roll Call: “The Capitol community will pause for a few moments this week to honor Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and former D.C. resident whose statued likeness will be placed in the Capitol on Wednesday.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro soon won’t be able to make his joke anymore that the way to tell between him and his twin brother Julian is that Julian’s married. Joaquin got engaged.

Ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL) and his wife will be sentenced July 3. Lynn Sweet: “The couple pleaded guilty in February to looting their campaign funds of $750,000 over seven years. Sandi Jackson also faced income tax evasion charges.”

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott (R) gets his highest approval rating since taking office – 43%/44%, per Quinnipiac, but he still trails Charlie Crist (D) in a hypothetical 2014 gubernatorial race, 47%-37% - though that is down from 50%-34% in March. 

MASSACHUSETTS: Ed Markey (D) and Gabriel Gomez (R) debate for the final time tonight in the special election. The election takes place June 25^th. 

Planned Parenthood Action Fund has released mailers (here and here) in the special Senate contest that hit Republican Gabriel Gomez on the issue of abortion. 

Donald Berwick, Obama’s former head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is running for governor. 

MINNESOTA: Roll Call interviews the man running as a Republican in Michele Bachmann’s district, Tom Emmer, who some have called Bachmann 2.0, and he doesn’t completely shy away from.

NEW JERSEY: GOTV will hit the Jersey Shore, Roll Call notes, given that the primary for the special election to replace Frank Lautenberg takes place Aug. 13, right in the midst of the peak summer season. 

TEXAS: Texans would rather Ted Cruz run for president than Rick Perry.

She's not a presidential candidate yet but Hillary Clinton is already starting to pile up the endorsements.  

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill Tuesday added her support to a growing roster of Democratic activists pushing the former secretary of state to make another bid for the White House in 2016.  The nudge gives Clinton a marquee, swing-state backer and could be an early glimpse at a major source of support for any potential campaign -- Democratic women in the U.S. Senate.   

McCaskill announced her support for Clinton on the website of the group "Ready for Hillary," a super PAC which has looked to build grassroots fervor for a potential Clinton candidacy in 2016.  The group is not tied directly to Clinton but has been aggressive in gathering support for a potential candidacy.  

Larry Downing / Reuters file

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., speaks about pending legislation regarding sexual assaults in the military at a Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 4, 2013.

"Hillary Clinton had to give up her political operation while she was making us proud, representing us around the world as an incredible Secretary of State, and that’s why Ready for Hillary is so critical,” McCaskill said in a statement. “It’s important that we start early, building a grassroots army from the ground up, and effectively using the tools of the Internet – all things that President Obama did so successfully – so that if Hillary does decide to run, we’ll be ready to help her win.” 

Speculation has grown in recent weeks about Clinton's political future.  Just weeks after stepping down as Obama's Secretary of State, she started to re-enter public life. While she has been deliberately coy about her intentions in 2016, Clinton launched a Twitter account last week teasing her "to be determined" future plans.  Her profile reads: "Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD..."  

And in a major new policy push, she outlined new initiatives involving access to education and advancing women's issues at last week's "Clinton Global Initiative," another nod at her unique position as the most high-profile woman in American politics. 

While she has endured criticism from Republicans over last fall's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya in which four Americans were killed, Clinton received a rare send-off from the president when she left office that included a joint interview that some observers saw as a passing-of-the-torch moment.     

McCaskill is one of 16 Democratic women serving in the Senate, many of them representing key swing states like Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Minnesota.  Regarded as a relative moderate, McCaskill won re-election to her second term in 2012. Though Missouri has trended slightly toward Republicans in recent statewide and presidential elections, it is still considered a "swing state" in relative terms — a state whose 10 electoral votes are important to winning an election. 

McCaskill's early support for Clinton is even more noteworthy for the fact that she was an early supporter of Barack Obama's during the 2008 Democratic primary versus Clinton. The Missouri senator's support for Clinton reflects the manner in which a number of Obama supporters have now turned their sentiments to Clinton, who served as Obama's top diplomat during his first term.

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:29 AM EDT

Earlier action by the United States to arm rebels seeking Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow would not have meaningfully slow the violence in that country’s ongoing civil war, President Barack Obama said in his first extensive comments about the situation in Syria.

Obama defended his administration’s handling of the protracted Syrian civil war following the U.S. government’s announcement late Friday that it would provide military and economic aid to rebel groups looking to oust Assad.

The decision – following Obama’s determination that Assad had used chemical weapons, crossing the president’s “red line” for U.S. involvement – has been beset by criticism that the United States waited too long to act, and faces deep resistance among most Americans.

Slideshow: Syria uprising

A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.

Launch slideshow

“[T]his argument that somehow we had gone in earlier, or heavier in some fashion, that the tragedy and chaos taking place in Syria wouldn’t be taking place, I think is wrong,” Obama told talk show host Charlie Rose in an interview which was taped on Sunday, but aired Monday evening.

The president went on to say, “I don’t think that anybody would suggest that somehow that there was a ready-made military opposition inside of Syria that could somehow quickly and cleanly defeated the Syrian army or Assad or overthrown it.”

The White House announced on Friday evening that it had decided to amplify its support for rebels in Syria – most notably the Supreme Military Council – after having determined with a high degree of Syria that Assad’s fighters had used weapons of mass destruction (namely, the nerve agent sarin) in its violent clashes with rebel groups.

The use of chemical weapons crosses the “red line” established by Obama in August 2012, which he said would prompt further U.S. involvement. But the administration’s pivot also follows acknowledgements earlier this year that Assad was likely to have used chemical weapons, which prompted some Republicans to push the administration to act sooner.

The issue of Syria is expected to be the central matter of discussion at this week’s G-8 summit in Northern Ireland. On that matter, the U.S. and its European allies faces stiff resistance from a lone G-8 member, Russia, whose leader, President Vladimir Putin, has been generally supportive of Assad.

In the interview on Sunday, Obama sought to defend his handling of the situation in Syria while straddle a delicate balance between committing to more involvement in Syria and justifying U.S. intervention in the first place.

“Unless you’ve been involved in those conversations, then it’s kind of hard for you to understand that the complexity of the situation and how we have to not rush into one more war in the Middle East,” the president said, describing the months of deliberations among his national security staff in the White House situation room.

Obama said that his team had long been frustrated by the lack of any “silver bullet” it could use against the Assad regime. The president explained that the U.S. lacked any discernible opposition group with which they could partner until recently.

What prompted the U.S. to act, Obama asserted, was the use of chemical weapons, as well as frustration that a political solution to the civil strife in Syria had become much less likely. But Obama argued that the new, increased involvement by the U.S. was justified on both humanitarian and geopolitical grounds.

“[T]he fact of the matter is, is that we've got serious interests there, and not only humanitarian interests, we can't have the situation of ongoing chaos in a major country that borders a country like Jordan which in turn borders Israel,” Obama said. “And we have a legitimate need to be engaged and to be involved.”

The matter of Syria is just one of the delicate topics on the agenda at the G-8, and the issue is fraught with complicated politics back home for Obama, as well. Senior lawmakers in both parties have begun to openly question whether the administration’s decision to become more involved in Syria will make much of a difference.

“Last year, Assad was isolated, he had very few friends, he was hanging by a thread,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a proponent of increased action in Syria, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “This year, he's entrenched with Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia.”

Said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on CNN: “You can't just simply send them, you know, a pea shooter against a blunder bust at the end of the day. Our vital national security interests – you know, time is not on our side, and our vital national security interests will not be pursued.”

But Obama also faces countervailing pressure from the American public, only further putting the president in a difficult spot on the matter of Syria. A whopping 70 percent of Americans – including 71 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 66 percent of Democrats – said in a Pew Research Center poll released Monday that they opposed the U.S. and its allies sending arms to anti-government forces in Syria. 

This story was originally published on Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:00 PM EDT

Organizing for Action -- the old Obama campaign apparatus -- is out with its first TV ad, and it defends the federal health-care law.

"What the impact of ObamaCare?" the ad's narrator asks asks. "The truth is, Americans are already seeing the benefits. She's seeing more seniors for free wellness visits. He received a $150 rebate from his health insurance company. And next year, she can expand her small business -- thanks to tax credits that cover up to half of her workers' health insurance."

The ad concludes, "Better coverage and lower costs -- that's what ObamaCare means for them. Get all the facts at BarackObama.com/HealthCare." NBC News has learned the ad is airing on national cable news, and it's part of a seven-figure ad buy over the summer.

This ad comes as the most recent NBC/WSJ poll found that just 37 percent of Americans said the health-care law was a good idea, versus 49 percent who said it was a bad idea.

That 49 percent on bad idea was the highest negative rating on that question since the NBC/WSJ poll began asking it in 2009.

It also comes as the law's opponents have outspent supporters on TV ads by a 5-to-1 ratio since 2010, per Kantar Media CMAG.

Cold  War tensions are back as G-8 summit begins… A test of Obama’s international leadership… Cheney vs. Gore on NSA surveillance… New Yorker: Everything you wanted to know about the Gang of Eight... Boehner to abide by Hastert Rule on immigration?... What does Rowhani’s win mean for the U.S.?... Poll: Markey leads Gomez by double digits… And Manchin gears up … for 2018!!!

*** Cold War tensions are back: As the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland begins today, we probably aren’t the only ones having flashbacks to the early 1980s. With Russia alone among the G-8 nations in backing the governing Assad regime, the old divides have resurfaced in dramatic ways. On Sunday, Russian President Putin publicly lectured British Prime Minister David Cameron on Syria in a joint appearance, saying, “As regards to the supplies of weapons to the Assad government, … I believe you will not deny that the blood is on the hands of both parties. ... And there’s always a question, who is to be blamed for that?” A new Snowden-leak story about how the U.S. and British intelligence agencies eavesdropped on world leaders -- including then-Russian President Medvedev -- at a London conference in 2009 is sure to add to the tensions. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a new allegation from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who claims Putin stole one of his Super Bowl rings. All of this is the backdrop when President Obama meets with Putin at 6:30 pm ET.

*** A test of Obama’s international leadership: As we wrote on Friday, this G-8 summit has become a test of Obama’s second-term international leadership. Can he stare down Putin? Can he keep the Western allies on the same page when it comes to arming the Syrian opposition? Can he articulate exactly what the U.S. strategy is beyond just hoping Assad will step aside and allow a political peace process to begin? Bill Clinton’s criticism of the president’s Syrian policy wasn’t nearly as impactful domestically as it was internationally. All this comes at a time when the president appears, well, a tad smaller today than he the last time he was in Europe. Over the past month, little has gone well for the administration as it’s been nicked by several different cuts -- Syria, the NSA leaks and surveillance debate, and the IRS story. And now there’s a new CNN poll showing that Obama’s approval rating has declined to 45%. As Team Obama is fond of saying, everyone gets their turn in the barrel. And right now, the Obama folks are definitely in the barrel. The potential good for them: That situation can always change. Indeed, it was just a year ago when the Obama campaign suffered a tough spell in May and June (poor jobs reports, “the private sector is doing fine”), and that situation changed in July, August, and September. Perhaps it’s a June thing. What they have to hope it’s not is some sort of second-term pall setting over them because that can be hard to shake. Appearance or illusion of weakness only creates actual political weakness. Bottom line: Obama needs to some meaningful progress, and it must gall him that his fate, at least internationally when it comes to Syria, is in the hands of Putin.

*** Cheney vs. Gore on NSA surveillance: Here’s a fun exercise -- looking at the NSA surveillance debate through the lens of two former vice presidents: Dick Cheney and Al Gore. For starters, Cheney “told ‘Fox News Sunday’ the National Security Agency-led programs have to remain confidential to keep the information from enemies and that he and other U.S. intelligence officials were concerned about a nuclear attack. ‘It was 19 guys with box cutters and airplane tickets,’ but the next time it could have been a ‘nuclear attack,’ the 72-year-old Cheney said. He said former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposing the gathering of information on phone calls and emails has done ‘enormous damage’ to the United States' anti-terror programs and called Snowden a ‘traitor.’” And here’s Gore, via National Journal: “In a long interview with The Guardian published on Friday, Gore said that the NSA surveillance is ‘not really the American way.’ And that's not the least of it: ‘This in my view violates the constitution. The fourth amendment and the first amendment—and the fourth amendment language is crystal clear...It is not acceptable to have a secret interpretation of a law that goes far beyond any reasonable reading of either the law or the constitution and then classify as top secret what the actual law is.’” It’s time for someone to step up and moderate a debate on surveillance between these two -- we are happy to moderate!

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President Barack Obama gestures during a speech at the Belfast Waterfront on Monday, June 17, 2013, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

*** Everything you wanted to know about the Gang of Eight: As the Senate begins another week debating the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” immigration reform legislation, don’t miss Ryan Lizza’s New Yorker piece. It has everything you needed to know about the politics inside the Gang of Eight -- the McCain-Schumer relationship and how it developed, the tension between McCain and Rubio, improved relations between Schumer and Dick Durbin, and even McCain taking some of the blame for the bad relationship with the White House. (Another sign the Old McCain is back?) Bottom line takeaway from this piece: This is Chuck Schumer's show, he put this team together, and he seems to be keeping them together.  

*** Boehner to abide by the Hastert Rule on immigration? But that’s the Senate. When it comes to the House, the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker reports that Speaker John Boehner won’t bring any immigration-reform legislation to the House floor if it doesn’t have a majority of Republicans backing it, according to sources familiar with Boehner’s plans. From the piece: “One GOP strategist noted that Boehner is navigating a different set of dynamics than Reid in the Senate. In particular, House Republicans are likely to suffer a greater voter backlash in the 2014 elections is they back the wrong immigration reform bill than they would if they simply did nothing on the issue. ‘There is no national crisis with an artificial deadline the president can trump up and trot out on the nightly news,’ the GOP strategist said. ‘Boehner is under no pressure to put the Senate bill on the floor.’” Make no mistake: Boehner is facing two different pressures: 1) from Republicans who are convinced that the GOP must fix its problems with Latino voters; and 2) from conservatives in his caucus who are opposed to immigration reform -- and, frankly, anything President Obama is supporting. The question is: Which pressure will win out?

*** What does Rowhani’s win mean for the U.S.? Turning to international politics, there was a PRETTY BIG development in Iran over the weekend: In a surprise, the most moderate of the actual candidates Hassan Rowhani won that country’s presidential contest. The New York Times: “But while the election of the new president, Hassan Rowhani, a former nuclear negotiator who is considered a moderate compared with the other candidates, was greeted by some administration officials as the best of all likely outcomes, they said it did not change the fact that only the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would make the final decision about any concessions to the West. Even so, they said they wanted to test Mr. Rowhani quickly, noting that although he argued for a moderate tone in dealing with the United States and its allies when he was a negotiator, he also boasted in 2006 that Iran had used a previous suspension of nuclear enrichment to make.” 

*** Poll: Markey leads Gomez by double digits: Before next week’s special Senate election in Massachusetts, a Boston Globe poll released on Sunday shows Ed Markey (D) leading Gabriel Gomez (R) by double digits among likely voters, 54%-43%. One of the reasons why Gomez is trailing is that he isn’t running up the score among independents, which a Republican candidate needs to do in order to win in deep-blue Massachusetts. “Gomez is the candidate poll respondents find more likable and he holds the lead among unenrolled voters — the critical bloc of independents whose support he’ll need to top a Democrat in Massachusetts. But that margin is only 9 percentage points. Analysts believe that for a Republican to win in Massachusetts, he must win the unenrolled vote by a 2-to-1 margin.”

*** Manchin gears up … for 2018! Are we the only ones who think Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his political team are overreacting a bit here? After all, Manchin isn’t up for re-election until 2018!!!! “Sen. Joe Manchin, co-author of a plan to expand background checks on gun sales, is launching a TV ad to defend himself from attacks by the powerful National Rifle Association,” Politico says. “Manchin will begin running the TV ad later this week, although details on how much the West Virginia Democrat will spend on the ad buy and its content were still being finalized on Sunday. Manchin will pay for the ad out of his reelection campaign.” If you were wondering if Manchin was going to run for re-election, well you have your answer -- 5 ½ years early!

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*** Monday’s “The Daily Rundown” line-up: Peter Alexander hosts today with the latest on the G8 Summit live, out of Ireland, with Chuck Todd… One of us (!!!) joins for our First Reads of the morning… Newsweek and The Daily Beast’s Josh Rogin and The Atlantic’s Steve Clemons join to talk about Syria… Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) on immigration reform… Plus The Rothenberg Political Report’s Nathan Gonzales, the Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus, and National Review’s Robert Costa join our Gaggle.

*** Monday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: Guests include Chuck Todd live from Ireland for today’s start of the G-8 Summit, David Corn/Mother Jones – Peter Beinart/TheDailyBeast and Anne Gearan/The Washington Post on the topics expected to dominate the G-8 including the Syria crisis – Iran elections and the NSA spying controversy,  Joy-Ann Reid/TheGrio – Jonathan Capehart/The Washington Post – Sahil Kapur/Talking Points Memo and Suzanne Sherry/Constitutional Law expert on the major decisions the Supreme Court is considering on Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, Prop 8 and DOMA

*** Monday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and former Amb. Marc Ginsberg about the President’s delicate G-8 dance in light of the crisis in Syria.  He’ll also get their take on new NSA leaks by Edward Snowden.  Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) joins to discuss the 20-week abortion ban up for a vote in the House this week.  Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) joins to talk about why she’s taking the food stamp challenge.  And Today’s Agenda Panel includes:  The Root’s Keli Goff, MSNBC.com’s Adam Serwer and The Nation’s Lee Fang.

*** Monday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include the New Yorker’s Rick Hertzberg, Business Insider’s Josh Barro, the Daily Beast’s Megan McArdle, Rolling Stone’s Eric Bates, Delaware AG Beau Biden, and NBC’s Chuck Todd.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews NBC's Chuck Todd, The New York Times' Mark Landler, the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, the Miami Herald's Carol Rosenberg and Jonathan Alter.

*** Monday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Time magazine’s Bryan Walsh, Ambassador Nick Burns, Rep. GK Butterworth on Moral Monday, and former Florida state attorney Kendall Coffey on Zimmerman jury selection.

“President Barack Obama on Monday invoked America’s own struggles with tolerance as he praised the peace achieved so far in Northern Ireland and urged young people to play a role in shaping a positive future for their country,” Politico writes. “‘And I know because in America, we too have had to work hard over the decades, slowly, gradually, sometimes painfully in fits and starts to keep protecting our union,’ Obama said in a speech in Belfast ahead of meetings with G8 leaders. Citing the Civil War, segregation and laws banning interracial marriage — ‘my own parents’ marriage would have been illegal in certain states’ — he continued, ‘but over time, laws changed, and hearts and minds changed, sometimes driven by courageous lawmakers, but more often driven by committed citizens.’”

“President Barack Obama is taking a security, foreign policy and economic agenda to Northern Ireland for a meeting with heads of the leading industrial nations,” AP writes. “He’s looking for consensus on Syria while pushing for common ground on trade, economic growth and tax policies.”

CNN/ORC has President Obama’s approval falling to 45%, down eight points in a month. His “honest and trustworthy” score has dropped as well to 49%, down from 58%. Now, a majority (50%) say he’s not.

Friday dump alert: The White House released a list of five ambassador picks Friday afternoon. Two of the picks are, once again, major bundlers picked for plum posts, and one was the finance director for his 2012 reelection campaign. James Costos, who bundled $500,000 for Obama in 2012, was picked as ambassador to Spain. John Emerson raised at least $500,000 in 2012 and $100,000 in 2008, was named as the nominee for Germany (replacing another big donor), and Rufus Gifford was the finance chairman of Obama for America in 2011 and 2012, as well as the finance chairman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Two career Foreign Service Officers were named to posts in Brazil and Ethiopia and Ken Hackett, the ex-president of Catholic Relief Services, was named ambassador to the Vatican.

“The White House says President Barack Obama and South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye (goon-hay) have discussed North Korea’s proposal for high-level talks with the U.S.,” AP writes. “The two leaders spoke by phone Sunday evening ahead of Obama’s trip to Northern Ireland for G-8 meetings.”

Unlike former President George W. Bush, who has stayed away from criticizing President Obama (and has seen an uptick in his favorability ratings), Vice President Dick Cheney didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about Obama on FOX Sunday, despite defending the NSA policies. By the way, in 2010, Vice President Dick Cheney’s favorability rating was 36%/52%, according to Gallup.

Another ex-vice president, Al Gore, tells The Guardian he thinks the NSA surveillance is unconstitutional. "I quite understand the viewpoint that many have expressed that they are fine with it and they just want to be safe but that is not really the American way," Gore said. "Benjamin Franklin famously wrote that those who would give up essential liberty to try to gain some temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

More: "This in my view violates the constitution. The fourth amendment and the first amendment – and the fourth amendment language is crystal clear," he said. "It is not acceptable to have a secret interpretation of a law that goes far beyond any reasonable reading of either the law or the constitution and then classify as top secret what the actual law is."

Political Wire: New York Post: "New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed the real story behind a 2005 meeting with Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian president pocketed his Super Bowl ring, worth more than $25,000. Kraft, at the time, claimed the diamond-encrusted bauble was a gift, but he now admits Putin stole it, and the White House intervened when he demanded it back."

David Hawkings points out Gallup poll numbers from last week that “Only 10 percent of 1,529 people surveyed described themselves as having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress, ranking it last on a list of 16 societal institutions for the fourth consecutive year. No institution has scored lower since Gallup started asking in 1973.”

“The Senate’s Gang of Eight is out in force to sell its immigration bill to the public, minus one pivotal member: Marco Rubio,” Politico writes. “The Florida Republican has spent hours strategizing in private with the bipartisan group of senators, but he hasn’t appeared in public with them since late April — nixing requests for press conferences after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the immigration bill, according to Democrats, and most recently, for a joint interview on Univision. His public absences from his partners show the difficult line he is walking on immigration — trying to woo conservative activists wary of the bill while keeping the Gang of Eight bill moving.”

Ryan Lizza goes inside the Gang of Eight.

Rubio to the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker on what he wants from immigration amendments, per NBC’s Carrie Dann: "Let's detail what the border plan is, so when members vote for this bill, they're not voting for the promise of coming up with a border plan in the future, they're voting on a border plan that we have seen, that we have talked to border patrol agents about and that we actually know how many miles of fence, how many sensors, how many cameras, what we're actually asking them to complete before the green card process can start. The second aspect of it that we're going to have to have a debate about is: How can we measure? So, not just input based. But how do we measure on the back end how the program is working? How do we measure whether it's successfully been implemented?" And: "It's got to be fully conditioned on the completion of the specific border plan that we detail."

“Republicans’ hopes to reclaim the White House in the 2016 elections hinge on whether they support — or sabotage — the immigration overhaul being debated in the Senate, two lawmakers who helped write the proposal warn,” AP writes. “Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday told conservatives who are trying to block the measure that they will doom the party and all but guarantee a Democrat will remain in the White House after 2016’s election. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., went a step further and predicted ‘there'll never be a road to the White House for the Republican Party’ if immigration overhaul fails to pass.”

“While the Senate continues its floor focus on amendments to its immigration-reform bill, the House this week is set for contentious action on its version of a five-year farm bill and on another measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy,” National Journal writes.

David Rogers: “The House opens debate Tuesday on a new five-year farm bill with Republicans encouraged by their vote count but faced with continued infighting among commodity groups over the shape of future subsidies. To the surprise of many, the powerful corn and soybean lobbies are backing a Midwest floor challenge to the new price-loss program crafted by the House Agriculture Committee, which is already struggling to win what’s expected to be a close vote on final passage.”

Beth Reinhard: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker polls near the bottom of would-be presidential contenders. Unlike potential rivals, you won't find him on the cover of Time magazine or slow-jamming the news with comedian Jimmy Fallon. But he's a conservative Republican who won election in a blue state, survived a brutal recall campaign, and now posts approval ratings over 50 percent. A budget-slashing chief executive and son of a Baptist minister who straddles the fiscal and social conservative camps. A proven fundraiser who has put his thumb in the eye of President Obama and Big Labor. He's poised to be the sleeper Republican presidential candidate of 2016.”

MASSACHUSETTS: A Boston Globe poll has Ed Markey (D) leading Gabriel Gomez (R) 54%-43% in the special election for the Senate race. Markey has outspent Gomez by about $4 million in the nine-week period before the election. A new Markey ad is all President Obama.

NEW JERSEY: Cory Booker’s at the 92^nd St. Y in New York at 6:30 pm ET tonight talking about cities as engines of growth as part of the “The Metropolitan Revolution” book tour with author Bruce Katz of Brookings. The tour will head to DC Wednesday with former DC Mayor Anthony Williams before going on to the Aspen Ideas Festival, the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

A Stockton College poll has Chris Christie up 64%-24% for reelection.

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)’s favorability has slipped some to 58%/34%.

TEXAS: Roll Call: “When the Supreme Court takes on a key part of a voting rights law later this month, Texas Democrats will be watching more closely than anyone on Capitol Hill. The high court’s ruling could affect whether, and how, the congressional boundaries in the state will be revised — yet again.”

WEST VIRGINIA: Politico: “Sen. Joe Manchin, co-author of a plan to expand background checks on gun sales, is launching a TV ad to defend himself from attacks by the powerful National Rifle Association.

Manchin will begin running the TV ad later this week.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday said the comprehensive immigration reform bill is almost "ready to go" but still needs substantial border security fixes, dismissing accusations from conservative critics that he has been manipulated by veteran Democratic lawmakers in their efforts to pass the bill. 

"I think it's an excellent starting point, and I think 95, 96 percent of the bill is in perfect shape and ready to go," he said of the bill, which is being debated in the Senate this month. "But there are elements that need to be improved."

Asked about rhetorical jabs from some immigration reform opponents during an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Rubio dismissed conservative commentator Ann Coulter's charge that he is "being played" by Sen. Chuck Schumer, another member of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" that drafted the original legislation. 

"Quite frankly, I don't even know what that means," he replied. 

"I recognize there is a division among conservatives about [immigration reform.] I respect other people's views on it," Rubio added. "I understand why they are frustrated by it. I just hope people understand that the reason why I've undertaken this is because this is a major problem that's hurting our country."

The Florida Republican, who has said the comprehensive bill will not pass without the beefed-up border security requirements, declined to engage in "hypotheticals and ultimatums" about whether he could vote for the bill without those fixes.  

"I think the debate now is about what that border security provision looks like," he said. "And if we do that, this bill will have strong bipartisan support. If we fail, we're going to keep trying, because at the end of the day, the only way we're going to pass an immigration reform law out of the House and Senate so the president can sign it is, that it has real border security measures within it."

On CNN's State of the Union program Sunday, Rubio's "Gang of Eight" colleague Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. said that negotiators are open to more specificity on the border plan but that its "triggers" must not impede the bill's path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. 

"I would simply say to our colleagues we are open, if you want greater specificity about what that border plan looks like, we're open to that," he said. "But what we cannot have and what I cannot support and what I believe the community cannot support at the end of the day is that we're going to have triggers that can never be achieved in terms of border security as an impediment to the pathway to legalization and citizenship.

And the New Jersey lawmaker warned that, without embracing that legalization plan, Republicans will face political extinction.

'The road to the White House comes through a road with a pathway to legalization," he said. "Without it, there'll never be a road to the White House for the Republican Party."

The United States might have been able to prevent the deadly Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington had controversial National Security Agency surveillance practices been in place at the time, former Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday. 

The former No. 2 in the Bush administration defended the NSA's ability to monitor phone and email data, and labeled as a "traitor" the analyst who has admitted to having leaked details about the classified program.

Harry Hamburg / AP file photo

Former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the Center For Security Policy dinner at Union Station in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009.

"As everybody who's been associated with the program's said, if we had had this before 9/11, when there were two terrorists in San Diego — two hijackers — had been able to use that program, that capability, against that target, we might well have been able to prevent 9/11," Cheney said on "Fox News Sunday."

And Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C., a hawkish Republican who's vocally defended the NSA practices, suggested another attack is even made more likely if the monitoring is curtailed. 

"I believe we should be listening to terrorists, known terrorist emails, following their emails and following their phone calls. And if they're emailing somebody and the United States or calling a number in the United States, I would like to get a judge's position to monitor that phone call," Graham said on "Meet the Press" on NBC. "If we don't do that, another attack on our homeland is very likely."

Many of the broad surveillance practices referenced by Cheney were initiated following the 9/11 attacks, prompted by President George W. Bush, who argued for broader government powers to prevent future attacks. But revelations that the government was routinely collecting so-called "meta-data" from phone providers like Verizon and other communications companies has prompted a new debate over what limits should be put on domestic government surveillance. 

President Barack Obama has also called the NSA's practices an important tool for his administration. Asked on CBS whether Obama felt as though any American's privacy had been violated, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said: "He does not."

McDonough also suggested that Obama will endeavor to speak more publicly about the program in the coming days, and touted the administration's work to more fully brief lawmakers about the programs and build in more oversight.

Obama has also asserted that he has scaled back some practices undertaken during the Bush administration — a claim which drew a sharp rebuke from Cheney. 

"I don't pay a lot of attention, frankly, to what Barack Obama says," Cheney said. "I find a lot of it is, in other areas — the IRS, Benghazi — not credible. I'm obviously not a fan of the incumbent president."

As to Edward Snowden, the former Booz Allen analyst who has claimed responsibility for first leaking details of the classified NSA program, Cheney said it was one of the worst breaches of intelligence he could imagine.

"I think he's a traitor," Cheney said of Snowden. "I think it's one of the worst occasions, in my memory, of somebody with access to classified information doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States."

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Ga., the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Snowden should face prosecution. 

"He needs to look an American jury in the eye and explain why he has disclosed sources and methods that are going to put American lives in danger," said Chambliss.

McDonough was far more reluctant to attach any label to Snowden, explaining that he did not want to prejudge any investigation.

Cheney, though, additionally suggested that Snowden's decision to flee to Hong Kong — where he is thought to currently reside — could mean that he was working with the Chinese government. (McDonough said he could not comment as to Snowden's whereabouts or cooperation with the Chinese.)

"I am very, very worried that he still has additional information that he hasn't released yet, that the Chinese would welcome the opportunity and are probably willing to offer immunity — or sanctuary, if you will — in exchange for what he presumably knows or doesn't know," he said.

NBC's Carrie Dann contributed to this report.

As the United States prepares to begin sending direct military aid to rebels in Syria, Republican lawmakers criticized the White House for failing to act sooner and urged action to prevent a "blow up" among the war-torn country's neighbors. 

"The whole region is about to blow up," Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on NBC's Meet the Press, citing the potential effects of Syria's instability on Jordan, Egypt and Israel. "And our foreign policy to me -- I don't understand it.  Whatever it is is not working."

The White House announced Thursday that U.S. officials believe the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people in the conflict there. Reports indicate that the aid sent to rebels will take the form of small arms and ammunition provided through a CIA program, which Graham says would not go far enough. 

"If we don't do more than add AK-47s into the mix, [Bashar al-Assad] will continue to win," Graham said. "And the King of Jordan is going to become toast."

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said the Syrian crisis has not been "well-handled" and that it's "not clear"  what the United States' mission is. 

"The question is whether now you're a day late and a dollar short," Cheney said. 

Graham and others advocate for a no-fly zone in the area, a measure the White House says would be costly and may not guarantee success.

"People need to understand that a no-fly zone is not some type of silver bullet," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters at a briefing Friday. 

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Meet the Press that the president should listen to the recommendations of military leaders. 

"I think that the military alternatives have got to be examined almost day to day.  And I assume that's what [Obama's] doing," he said. "And if the military says that we need to implement a no-fly zone, we ought to do it right away."

John Gress / Reuters

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton greets New Jersey Governor Chris Christie during the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in Chicago.

CHICAGO – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ventured into what some would consider enemy territory for a Republican on Friday evening as he bonded with former President Bill Clinton over the finer details of disaster relief in a joint appearance that also served as a tantalizing potential peek at the next presidential election.

Christie’s message Friday was one that has become a trademark for the blunt-speaking governor, at least for now: Politics, for him, take a back seat to results.

Christie was received warmly by the former president at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting. His presence, following a Thursday speech by Hillary Clinton, provided attendees a glimpse at two national figures likely to dominate the political stage for the near future. The former secretary of state was not in the room for Christie’s appearance, however.

Stepping on stage for a conversation to discuss lessons Christie learned in the wake of Superstorm Storm Sandy, which battered New Jersey last fall, the governor was praised by Clinton for his handling of the recovery efforts.

Clinton pointedly noted that the iconic image most have of Christie is of the governor touring storm damage, days before last year’s election, in his signature flannel jacket with President Barack Obama at his side. It was a nod to the reaction Christie has faced within his own party. 

“He has done a good job,” Clinton told the crowd during the closing session of the annual meeting. “You got both praise and damnation for ignoring the political differences that you had then and still have with the president and all of us who are in the other party to do something that is really important.”

For his part, Christie was clear about his position that, when natural disasters hit, there can be no “partisan lines.” 

“The one thing I will tell you is that there are no partisan lines on this one when it happens. You are reaching out to everybody you can. I was reaching out to every governor I could, Republican or Democrat, to say ‘can you urge your utility companies to send us crews, can you send some National Guard troops up to help supplement ours,’” Christie said at the “America Meeting.”

“And so I think these types of crisis breaks down a lot of those barriers as well between us and can build the kind of consensus you are referring to,” he added.

It is a consensus that might be hard to sell within his own party, however. While Christie went to Chicago to talk to the Clinton foundation, some of his potential 2016 Republican primary opponents – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Rep. Paul Ryan among them – were speaking to a gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington.

Although Christie enjoys a good degree of national appeal, Ryan, Rubio, Paul and Bush each outrank Christie in terms of popularity among Republicans, a June NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found, underscoring the challenges Christie must navigate should he choose to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

A Republican governor of a heavily blue state, Christie will stand for re-election this fall. His appearance with Clinton on Friday marks the second time in less than a month that Christie has appeared with one of the nation's most high-profile Democrats.

In late May, Christie was joined by Obama on the Jersey Shore to celebrate the rebuilt portions of the state's historic boardwalk that were washed away by Sandy.

Christie's willingness to partner with Democrats at points helps explain the crossover appeal that has helped transform the pugnacious Republican into a national figure.

That same NBC/WSJ poll found that Christie has broad crossover appeal of the sort that few politicians enjoy. The poll found that 40 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats see him in a positive light.

Clinton, in an interview on Friday on MSNBC, praised Christie's work to reach out to Democrats as indicative of his appeal.

“I think in the culture of the Northeast, if you are a Republican and want to get elected and re-elected, bipartisanship is imperative,” he told MSNBC's Alex Wagner before noting that Republicans in other parts of the country would be “creamed" by voters if they followed Christie’s example.

NBC's Vaughn Ververs contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Clinton and Christie vie for 2016 spotlight in Chicago
• Hillary Clinton a private citizen? Not even close

This story was originally published on Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:59 PM EDT

NBC's Domenico Montanaro previews the week ahead in politics, including President Obama's trip to Europe for the G-8 conference, the final debate in the Massachusetts Senate race, and the kickoff of Netroots Nation, a gathering of liberal activists.

Analysis.

Republicans considering running for president over the past six years have been delivering red meat to the base at conservative confabs.

But Jeb Bush Friday did not fit the mold. 

The former Florida governor, mulling a 2016 bid, followed the retiring firebrand Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) at the Faith and Freedom Coalition. But while Bachmann and the other speakers here, including Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) -- the 2012 vice-presidential nominee -- treaded familiar turf by railing against government and President Barack Obama, Bush didn’t go there. 

“I won’t be pointing out the failures of the Obama administration,” Bush said to silence here. “They’re clear for those that want to see them.” 

Instead, Bush laid out a detailed, four-point plan to grow the economy that included American energy, immigration reform, education, and family.

“I’d rather talk about how conservatives can govern again,” Bush said, “to begin to solve our pressing problems.”

A comment Bush made about immigrants’ higher rates of “fertility” drew much of the attention and distracted the cognoscenti in Washington. 

"Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans,” Bush said. “Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."

Bush was awkwardly trying to point out that heavily Catholic, recent Hispanic immigrants have more children, in the way that Italian and Irish immigrants once did. Of course, that’s changing among younger Hispanics, as it did for the Italians and Irish. as the generations grew up in America and fully assimilated. 

But that was a small moment in what was a speech that stood out for its tone and seriousness. It was a stark contrast to what has been seen at many of these conferences, as a host of Republicans have jockeyed for the limelight and the Republican nominations for 2008 and 2012.

In addition to the usual Republican points of entitlement reform, regulatory reform, and tax-code reform, Bush called for four points he said could increase growth in the U.S. to 3.5 to 4 percent per year over the next decade:

1.Encourage North American energy production, notably natural gas, approving the Keystone XL pipeline, rational fracking regulations, opening lands up for drilling, helping Mexico modernize its oil sector.

2.Approve comprehensive-immigration reform because immigrants are entrepreneurial (and “are more fertile,” and those more children can help fix the imbalance in entitlement support). This would include a legal pathway that include fines and penalties, H1 visas, and a guest-worker program.

3.Reform education by raising standards, grading schools based on student achievement, like in Florida, eliminate social promotion in third grade, focus on early literacy, expand school choice/vouchers. 

4.Family: “No amount of growth nor transformed education system will be sustainable if strong family faith isn’t the backbone of any American renewal,” Bush said. But he didn’t toe the conservative line on “traditional” families. “We have to be supportive of the single mom” and the “grandmother,” as well as other non-traditional families, Bush said (though he derided the Democrats’ attempts to fix these issues through policy.) 

Bush’s prescription certainly will not win over everyone, and plenty will disagree that his plan will improve the economy in the way that he touts. But it was clearly a different tone and a civil speech on serious issues.

Ironically, in addition to his famous last name, that moderate tone (and moderate policy on immigration) may be one of Bush’s biggest hurdle to a Republican nomination. 

The crowd here greeted him politely and seemed impressed by his thoughtfulness. But following him was Ryan.

“The left likes to think we’re the fringe,” Ryan said. “Guess what, you, me, us, we’re the mainstream.”

When Ryan was finished, he got a standing ovation.

Speaking to religious conservatives Friday, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said that welcoming immigrants to the United States will be an economic boon because they are hard-working, family-oriented and “more fertile.”

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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference on June 14 in Washington.

"Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans,” Bush said in remarks to the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington D.C. “Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population. Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."

Bush, who is mulling a 2016 bid, also argued that there are too few young people paying into a system to support a larger number of older Americans because native-born fertility rates are going down. 

While Bush’s arguably awkward phrasing earned Twitter jabs, data shows that immigrants do have a higher fertility RATE than women born in the United States.

According to 2011 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the birth rate for foreign-born women is substantially higher than that of U.S. born women, at 87.8 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44. (It was 58.9 for women born in the United States.)

In fact, the Pew Research Center calculated that, in 2010, about 23 percent of all births in the country were to mothers born abroad, even though only about 13 percent of the total population was foreign-born. 

But it’s also worth noting that the immigrant birth rate dropped sharply  -- down 13 percent -- between 2007 and 2010.

This story was originally published on Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:40 AM EDT