UPDATED, 12:34 pm ET -- Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns will retire at the end of his current Senate term.

"We have decided not to seek re-election," Johanns and his wife, Stephanie, wrote to constituents Monday. "It is time to close this chapter of our lives." 

Johanns called state Republican officials, including Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, to inform them of his decision to retire. Heineman is likely to seek Johanns' seat, open in 2014. 

An announcement event wasn't planned, but the senator had already scheduled a series of town hall meetings across his state this week while the Senate is on break.

Johanns is one of just two Republican senators publicly backing former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R) nomination to be defense secretary. Other GOP senators have been aggressively critical of their former colleague, labeling him unqualified for the job. Hagel's nomination by President Obama was filibustered this past week as GOP opposition to Hagel intensified. Johanns replaced Hagel in the Senate.

Before he was senator, Johanns served as governor of Nebraska and was Secretary of Agriculture under former President George W. Bush. 

Several candidates have already told state Republican officials they're interested in running. Heineman can't run for the governorship again -- he's term-limited -- and will be ending his tenure as governor in 2014, making the timing of the race ideal. 

Also interested is Jon Bruning, the current attorney general, who lost to current Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in the Senate primary in 2012. State treasurer Don Stenberg, who's run for Senate four times before, could also get in, as could U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

Here's Johanns' full letter to constituents:

Dear Fellow Nebraskans,
    We would like to share with you a decision we have made about running for re-election to the United States Senate. We have decided not to seek re-election.
    Words are inadequate to fully express our appreciation for the friendship and support you have given to us over the past three decades.
    With everything in life, there is a time and a season. At the end of this term, we will have been in public service over 32 years. Between the two of us, we have been on the ballot for primary and general elections 16 times and we have served in eight offices. It is time to close this chapter of our lives.
    During these many years, we have cherished our time together. So as we think about the next stage of our lives, we want a quieter time with our focus on each other, our family and our faith. We are also confident that there will be many more opportunities to serve our state and our nation.
    We look forward to the remaining time in the Senate. It is an honor to have served in so many ways over so many years.
    May God continue to bless Nebraska and our great nation.
                        Sincerely, Mike & Stephanie Johanns 

This story was originally published on Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:35 AM EST

USA Today: Twitter “blew up when the Florida Republican reached for a bottle of Poland Spring water as he was outlining the GOP's vision to help the middle class. His speech text ran for five pages, about half the length of Obama's remarks.”

Rubio paused mid-speech, leaned over out of frame, grabbed a small Poland Spring bottle, took a swig of water, swished it, put it back down, and continued.

More: “Twitter said there were about 9,200 tweets per minute at about 10:43 p.m. ET, after Rubio's sip of water. For a short time, #watergate and Poland Spring were trending on the micro-blogging site.”

Politico’s provocative headline: “Marco Rubio’s drinking problem.” From the story: “[T]he Florida senator appeared a little sweaty and dry-mouthed at mid-speech, taking an awkward swig from a bottle of water that had been placed off-camera. Rubio handled the hullabaloo with some humor, later tweeting a picture of the water bottle.”

The New York Daily News: “Thirsty Sen. Marco Rubio makes waves with awkward grab for water.” From the story: “Thirsty for attention? Or just thirsty? Sen. Marco Rubio made headlines for all the wrong reasons Tuesday night as he delivered the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address. It was supposed to be the moment that propelled Rubio into the top tier of potential presidential candidates. Instead, social media exploded with jokes after Rubio awkwardly paused, reached for a bottle of Poland Spring water and took a swig to douse a case of dry mouth.”

For Rubio and his team’s part, they seem to be rolling with it. Rubio went on ABC this morning and made light of it, taking a drink again. “I needed water; what am I going to do, you know? It happens. God has a funny way of reminding us we’re human.”

On CBS, he said: “I'm just glad the water was nearby. I don't know what I would have done without it."

Rubio brought a bottle of water with him on another appearance, too. This one on FOX. “My mouth got dry and I had to get some water,” he said, noting that he’d rather “take the hit” for getting water than not be able to say the rest of the words in his speech. "My mouth got dry, what can I say ... I brought some with me now." He then took a swig.

Aside from “water-gate,” Politico notes: “Sen. Marco Rubio got a turn on the national stage opposite President Barack Obama Tuesday night, but some of the facts the likely 2016 presidential contender marshaled to make his case played loose with the truth” on the sequester, climate change, Medicare, and Obamacare.

As Matt Yglesias noted on Twitter, Rubio’s “middle-class” neighborhood may also be fiction. As the Huffington Post and the Daily Caller reported last month Rubio put his house on the market for $675,000.

On substance, Roll Call says the contrast between Obama and Rubio was “a stark display of the ideological divide between the parties.” Noting “water-gate,” Roll Call writes, “Regardless of his uneven performance, Rubio offered a clear contrast to the president’s call for enhanced government services and programs, such as an expansion of pre-kindergarten programs and money for new infrastructure improvements.”

AP: “Republicans say President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda will bring more tax increases and increase deficit spending. They’re vowing to promote economic growth to help middle-class families find good jobs. Republicans are responding to Obama’s State of the Union address with fresh appeals to voters on the economy and promises to rein in federal spending with a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.”

And Beth Reinhard notes this overlooked bit from Rubio: “By delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union speech in Spanish, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Tuesday broke through an increasingly powerful language barrier between the political establishment and the nation’s fastest-growing demographic. Rubio pretaped his remarks in Spanish and was the first opposition leader whose official response was broadcast on English and Spanish television networks.”

Politico: “Rand Paul tackled gun control, drone strikes, immigration and — first and foremost — spending cuts in a blistering ‘tea party’ response to the President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.”

Reuters: “U.S. Senator Rand Paul blamed Republicans and Democrats for heavy government spending on Tuesday in an address responding to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech on behalf of the small-government, fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. … Paul's remarks under the Tea Party banner prompted talk of division within the Republican Party. But Paul's speech echoed many themes in the official Republican response to Obama's remarks by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who like Paul was elected in 2010 with strong Tea Party support.”

And this is why inviting Ted Nugent is a problem. He slammed Rhode Island Rep. Jim Langevin, who was critical of the decision to invite Nugent. Langevin is in a wheelchair from a gunshot as a teenager. Nugent: “He probably has s**t for brains. … “I couldn't be more proud of myself, what I stand for, and for this pompous ass to claim that he cares more about a family that lost a child than I do is a perfect example of the brain dead critics of Ted Nugent.”

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will look to jettison Republicans’ caricature as a party of the rich in the official Republican response Tuesday to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

Recommended: Obama says Bolstering middle class must be policy 'North Star'

Rubio, the Cuban-American senator and a rising Republican star, will frame Washington’s bitter fights over taxes and spending in humanizing terms. His remarks seem firmly tied to the broader Republican effort to expand its reach and shirk the image of a GOP that has grown older, whiter and more dominated by men.

“Mr. President, I still live in the same working class neighborhood I grew up in. My neighbors aren't millionaires. They're retirees who depend on Social Security and Medicare. They're workers who have to get up early tomorrow morning and go to work to pay the bills. They're immigrants, who came here because they were stuck in poverty in countries where the government dominated the economy,” Rubio will say, according to English-language excerpts released by his office. (Rubio will also deliver a pre-taped response in Spanish.)

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Florida Senator Marco Rubio speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Aug. 30, 2012 in Tampa.

“Mr. President, I don't oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich. I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors,” the Florida senator will add.

Rubio’s speech will also seize upon anemic U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year to argue that increased revenues would only stifle the sluggish recovery from the 2008 recession.

“Raising taxes won't create private sector jobs. And there's no realistic tax increase that could lower our deficits by almost $4 trillion,” Rubio will say. “That's why I hope the President will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy."

Recommended: Florida – the state to watch over the next four years

The Republican’s speech sets the stage for this spring’s fight over alternative Democratic and Republican budget proposals, both of which are tied into resolving the so-called “sequester” – the swift, automatic spending cuts that make up part of the “fiscal cliff.” Lawmakers delayed the onset of these cuts until Mar. 1, but lawmakers appear nowhere near a deal to avoid its effects, which would threaten to hamper economic growth and harm national security, according to the Obama administration.

Among other policy specifics upon which Rubio will touch are budgets and entitlement reforms. The first-term senator will call for ratifying a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution – a proposal that has failed before in Congress – as well as changes to Medicare that would shore up the program’s solvency for future generations.

Here’s this year’s version of “You lie.”

Ted Nugent, the rocker and current gun-rights advocate, will be in attendance at Tuesday’s State of the Union as the guest of Texas Congressman Steve Stockman.

Stockman has said he would consider filing articles of impeachment about President Barack Obama for his gun-control push following the shootings in Newtown, Conn. Nugent is a board member of the National Rifle Association. Many Democrats have invited victims of gun violence to the address.

Stockman will also be livetweeting the address – with the hash tag #youlie, “debunking myths and fact checking,” his office said.

"I am excited to have a patriot like Ted Nugent joining me in the House Chamber to hear from President Obama," said Stockman in a press release of the man who was under Secret Service investigation last year for comments made about the president. "After the Address I'm sure Ted will have plenty to say."

Kevin Tighe / Getty Images Contributor

Ted Nugent performs at Ruth Eckerd Hall on August 6, 2012 in Tampa, Fla.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is bilingual has been at the center of a Senate push on immigration reform, is delivering the official GOP State of the Union response. But Nugent's appearance, and the promise that he "will have plenty to say," has the potential to distract and be a headache for a Republican Party looking to re-brand itself, particularly in tone, after President Obama won re-election this past fall.

More on Ted Nugent from NBCNews.com

Nugent landed in hot water with the agency in charge of protecting the president, because he said in April of last year at a national NRA meeting that if Obama was re-elected, “I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

In the same set of comments, Nugent called the president, Vice President Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “criminals,” said the “government is wiping its ass with the constitution,” and equated Democrats to coyotes who should be shot.

“If the coyote's in your living room pissing on your couch,” Nugent said, “it's not the coyote's fault. It's your fault for not shooting him."

Stockman is also set to unveil what he’s calling, “The Obama Failometer, a ten-foot-long billboard that will objectively measure the failure of Obama's economic policies … The ten-foot-long Obama Failometer billboard will be displayed in the corridor of the Capitol's Cannon House Office building at Stockman's 326 Cannon Office.”

Stockman, who previously served one term in Congress in 1995-1996, is back for the first time since.

This story was originally published on Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:52 PM EST

Tampa Bay Times: “I was a stranger and you invited me in. Evangelicals nationwide are turning their Bibles to Matthew 25:35 and praying that Congress is listening to those words — part of a highly-coordinated effort to spur progress on the long unresolved and contentious issue of immigration. Faith leaders and their congregations have become an unlikely but powerful ally to reform advocates, framing the question over what to do with 11 million unauthorized residents as one of moral compassion, and tapping into influence among Republicans to soften opposition to a pathway to citizenship.”

“Some of the nation's most prominent Republican governors have moved to embrace a key feature of President Obama's healthcare law, providing a significant boost to the administration and highlighting a fissure inside the GOP on an emerging campaign issue. At stake is the goal of expanding health insurance under the Medicaid program, one of two main ways the law is to provide coverage to those who lack it,” The Los Angeles Times writes. “The opposition governors say that despite the federal promise to pay the full cost of expansion for the first three years and 90% thereafter, the change eventually could lead to unsustainable costs. But the unified strategy has begun to crack in recent days. This week, GOP Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Snyder of Michigan announced they would support the expansion, bringing the number of Republicans in favor of it to six.”

Chris Cillizza notes in the Washington Post: “Marco Rubio’s selection to deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union cements the Florida senator’s role as a first-among-equals when it comes to the future leaders of the party, and sets up an intriguing dynamic over the next few years between Rubio and the man he almost certainly wants to replace.”

“Marco Rubio won’t just give the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. The Florida Senator will give two. One in English. Otro en Español,” according to the Miami Herald. “It’s the first time such a high-profile speech will be given in two languages by the same person, and it’s a sign of how crucial the Rubio has become in the GOP efforts to draw more Hispanic support and rebrand the party.”

“Republican Savior” Marco Rubio is the cover of this week’s Time magazine.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said bringing up something like the DREAM Act would be "worthy of consideration" a day after his No. 2, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), embraced the plan that would give children brought to the United States illegally a pathway to citizenship.

The idea is "worthy of consideration," Boehner said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. As speaker, he said, he wants to "do everything I can to foster this continuing conversation" regarding immigration.

Yesterday during a speech that aides described as "Republican re-branding," Cantor expressed support for ideas found in the DREAM Act that were voted down by Congress in 2010 saying.

"It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home," Cantor said.

Boehner did not wholly embrace the DREAM Act, however, which is understandable considering the speaker has to weigh politics within his conference.

Ashley Judd's not even running yet, if she runs at all, for the Senate in Kentucky, but a powerful Republican outside group is already blasting her potential candidacy, painting her as "an Obama-following, radical, Hollywood liberal" who isn't even from Kentucky.

Karl Rove's American Crossroads posted a video taking aim at at Judd, who some Democrats have pointed to as a potential Senate candidate against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The video creates an image of the actress as a "radical ... Hollywood liberal," who doesn't like "hillbillies who golf," is attached at the hip to President Obama, and doesn't even consider Kentucky home. That's Tennessee, according to the video.

"Her own grandmother says she's a Hollywood liberal," an announcer says. "Isn't that exactly what we need? Ashley Judd, an Obama-following, radical, Hollywood liberal, who's right at home here in Tennessee. I mean, Kentucky."

Judd, the daughter of country singer Naomi Judd, grew up in Kentucky and California and attended the University of Kentucky. But she also attended high school in Tennessee and lives there currently. She had also been rumored as a potential candidate for the Senate in Tennessee.

The effort by American Crossroads, on the heels of the revelation that it will form another group that would take aim at fringe conservatives, could be as much an effort to curry favor with the influential Republican leader McConnell as it is a way to knock Judd and gain attention.

Karen Tumulty: “After years in which the Republicans’ answer to almost every question was to reduce spending and lower taxes, some of the party’s most influential voices are beginning to suggest that it is time to take a broader — and softer — focus. The latest to join that movement is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), who in a speech on Tuesday called for Republicans to ‘focus our attention really on what lies beyond the fiscal debates’ and to create ‘conditions for health, happiness and prosperity.’”

But: “Changing the subject from fiscal issues could prove difficult, however, given that congressional Republicans are squaring off with President Obama over the automatic across-the-board spending cuts that are set to take effect on March 1. And later next month, the stopgap resolution that is keeping the government funded will expire, igniting yet another battle over spending.”

“After their electoral drubbing last November — their second straight in a presidential contest — Republicans have faced a choice. Do they change their policies or their tone?” NBC’s Michael O’Brien reports. “For now, many top Republicans in Washington seem to have opted for the latter, deciding that a more articulate re-statement of the party's long-held principles will suffice in their effort to attract new voters to the GOP. ‘I wouldn't say shift in policy,’ pollster Jim McLaughlin said of his advice for fellow Republicans. ‘Republicans have to make adjustments there, but they have to stick to their principles.’”

Look at this split between Democrats and Republicans in National Journal’s latest “insiders’” survey. Democrats (57%) believe the top problem for the GOP is its policies, while the top problem Republicans pointed to was message (33%).

The internecine conservative fight continues. Terence Jeffrey, editor-in-chief of the conservative web site CNSNews.com, writes this: “Karl Rove Is Not a Conservative.” He writes, “If you give him credit for believing in the policies and nominations he helped Bush make and defend, then Rove was wrong on the constitutionally appropriate role of the federal government, wrong on foreign policy, wrong on immigration and wrong on a crucial nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Republican leaders are launching an effort led by Hispanic governors in New Mexico and Nevada in an attempt to make up ground with Latino voters who have largely turned away from the GOP,” AP writes. “The nation’s only Hispanic governors plan to recruit minority candidates and groom them for state-level offices with an eye toward creating a pool of candidates for higher positions in the future, the Republican State Leadership Committee said in a statement.”

The Christian right is for immigration reform? “Christian conservatives, who stayed on the sidelines in 2006 or opposed reform outright, have sprung into action for the cause,” Politico writes. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition said, “I think it is night and day, particularly among social conservatives.”

More: “Social conservatives are directly targeting GOP offices and trying to show that they can give cover to lawmakers in the South, West and Midwest, who are worried about facing retaliation at the ballot box in 2014. … There has also been a shift in thinking among southern conservative religious leaders, who see Hispanics as a growing part of their congregations.”

Gallup: “At least two-thirds of Americans favor each of five specific measures designed to address immigration issues -- ranging from 68% who would vote for increased government spending on security measures and enforcement at U.S. borders, to 85% who would vote for a requirement that employers verify the immigration status of all new hires. More than seven in 10 would vote for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants now living in this country.”

ABC/Washington Post: “Public approval of Barack Obama’s handling of immigration has jumped to a career high in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, buttressed by majority support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and, much more broadly, endorsement of stricter border control. While the president lacks majority approval on the issue overall, slightly more Americans now approve than disapprove of his approach, by 49 vs. 43 percent. Obama was underwater on the issue – just 38 percent approved, while 52 percent disapproved – as recently as last July.” Democrats approve of Obama’s handling of the issues by a 79%-16% margin, but just 14% of Republicans approve. Independents are split 46%-46%.

On specific issues, 55% in the ABC/Washington Post poll favor a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the country illegally. There is a big split by party, however. 

Beth Reinhard: “By picking a fight so publicly in what former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin famously decried as the ‘lamestream media,’ the [American Crossroads] super PAC has royally antagonized the very conservative grassroots it is hoping to tame. The backlash on Monday was swift. Freedom Works President Matt Kibbe called the super PAC’s plans ‘Orwellian.’ ForAmerica Chairman L. Brent Bozell III declared, ‘The days of conservatives listening to the moderate GOP establishment are over.’ Tea Party Express called the Conservative Victory Project ‘a big mistake that will lead to neither conservatives, nor victories.’”

“The Arkansas House voted Monday to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest, sending the proposal to a state Senate that approved more stringent restrictions last week,” the AP writes. “The House also voted to block insurers from covering abortions if they participate in the online marketplace created under the federal health care overhaul.”

“Hillary Clinton has found her post-State Department home on the World Wide Web,” Politico notes. “HillaryClintonOffice.com is bare-bones so-far, sporting only a picture of the former Secretary of State and a contact form. According to registration data, the site was created Jan. 31, and was last edited Sunday. The URL was registered through GoDaddy.com.”

“Former Boy Scout leaders and activists on Monday delivered a petition with 1.4 million signatures to the Irving, Texas, headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America, urging the organization to end its ban on gay members and leaders,” USA Today writes. “Scouting executives said they were considering dropping the national ban during a three-day meeting that began Monday. A decision, if there is one, is likely Wednesday, the organization said.”

Said Texas Gov. Rick Perry, an outspoken conservative former Scout: "I think most people see absolutely no reason to change the position, and neither do I.” Rick Santorum yesterday said there was a “war” on the Scouts.

GEORGIA: “Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says he won't be jumping into next year's race for the U.S. Senate in Georgia,” USA Today writes. “‘I'm just loving being mayor. I'm focused on being mayor,’ Reed said Monday on MSNBC. ‘I'm going to keep being mayor.’ Reed mentioned two fellow Democrats who would be "terrific" candidates: Rep. John Barrow, a five term congressman who has long been a GOP target, and Peter Aman, Atlanta's former chief operating officer.”

IOWA: Steve King leads the GOP field for Senate in a new poll.

MAINE: Gov. Paul LePage (R)’s “greatest fear”: newspapers.

MASSACHUSETTS: “Three more high-profile Republicans announced in rapid succession Monday that they will not be candidates in the special US Senate election Monday, leaving the GOP with the prospect of fielding a relative unknown in what the party had hoped would be a pitched battle for John F. Kerry’s former seat,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “In fast moving developments since Brown announced Friday that he would not run, several prominent GOP personalities — including former governor William F. Weld, former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey, former Senate minority leader Richard Tisei, and Mitt Romney’s son Tagg — announced they would not run in the special election.”

More: “Now, the only Republican openly acknowledging interest in the seat is Gabriel E. Gomez, a venture capitalist who has been quietly moving around party leadership circles in recent weeks telling GOP movers and shakers he is seriously thinking of running. Gomez, a former Navy SEAL and fighter pilot, is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., Tuesday with officials from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Gomez will be accompanied to the meeting by Ron Kaufman, the state party’s national committeeman, who has been involved in the GOP’s scramble to find a credible candidate.”

State Rep. Dan Winslow might announce he’s getting in today.

Andy Card might run for the seat in 2014.

NEW JERSEY: Gov. Chris Christie (R) was on Letterman. After chomping on a jelly donut, he declared, "I'm basically the healthiest fat guy you've ever seen in your life."

Frank Lautenberg (D) pulled in just $11,000 in the fourth quarter of 2012, Roll Call reports.

OHIO: “Conservative groups wanted to stop the march of Obamacare expansion at ground zero: the states,” Politico notes. “But one of their best hopes just caved. John Kasich, the fiercely conservative governor of Ohio, announced Monday that he’s going to expand Medicaid dramatically using federal money — a 180-degree turn from what conservative groups swore their allies in governors’ mansions would do when the Supreme Court gave them an out last year.”

Republicans in MI, OH, PA, VA are looking to change the Electoral College rules, not their party… The changes would give the GOP a HUGE advantage in presidential contests… But it would also present this dilemma for Republicans: It would speed up efforts to have the popular vote decide presidential elections… The Republican 2016ers: the insiders vs. the outsiders… Obama and Hillary to hold joint “60 Minutes” interview… Biden to talk gun violence in Richmond, VA at 11:00 am ET… And abortion opponents hold “March for Life” in DC.

*** Changing the rules, not the party: As the Republican National Committee concludes its three-day meeting in Charlotte, N.C., you’ve by now heard all the different ways Republicans are looking to improve their standing in time for the next presidential election. They want to do a better job reaching out to Latinos (see Jeb Bush’s WSJ op-ed), they want to soften their tone when it comes to social issues, and they want to narrow their technological and get-out-the-vote operation gap with Democrats. But here’s another way you might not have heard: Some Republicans are looking to change the Electoral College system in battleground states that Democrats have won in the last two cycles. As the Washington Post reports, Republicans in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia -- all controlled at the state level (in some form or fashion) by the GOP -- have proposed awarding their Electoral College votes by congressional district instead of the winner-take-all approach used by every state except for two (Maine and Nebraska). “No state is moving quicker than Virginia, where state senators are likely to vote on the plan as soon as next week,” the Post says.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks as (L-R) Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) listen during a news briefing after the weekly Senate Republican Policy Luncheon January 22, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

*** That would give the GOP a HUGE advantage: The Republicans advocating these changes say they would give smaller communities more of a voice in presidential battleground states. But there’s a bigger story here: The moves would give the GOP a significant advantage due to the fact that redistricting has concentrated the Democratic vote to just a handful of congressional districts in these states. Take Virginia, for example: Obama won the state in 2012 by four percentage points and by about 150,000 votes -- and he took all of the state’s 13 electoral votes. But under the proposed changes, Mitt Romney would have won nine of the state’s electoral votes to Obama’s four. Put another way, if every electoral vote in the country was awarded by congressional district (plus two votes to the statewide winner), Romney would have defeated Obama, 276 to 262 in electoral votes (instead of Obama winning 332 to 206), according to Emory University’s Alan Abramowitz. And if only the states of Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin were changed to this system, Obama would have BARELY won, 271-267, Abramowitz adds.

*** The GOP’s dilemma: The current system vs. the popular vote: And this isn’t just coming from state-level Republicans. In an interview earlier this month with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus -- who’s expected to win re-election as RNC chair today in Charlotte -- appeared to bless these changes to the Electoral College system. "I think it's something that a lot of states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red ought to be looking at," Priebus said, but he also added: "It's not my decision that can come from the RNC, that's for sure." But these proposed changes are shortsighted for two reasons. One, the Republicans pushing them are all but acknowledging that their party problems heading into 2016 are so significant that they have to change the rules in order to win. In other words, they are throwing in the towel and trying to rig the system. Two, the proposed changes would only speed up efforts to have the popular vote -- and not the Electoral College -- decide presidential contests, because many would see that as a fairer system. So Republicans need to ask themselves this question: Do they want the current Electoral College system, or do they want the popular vote? And a final question here: Where are the big leaders of the party on this issue? Haley Barbour? Jeb Bush? George W. Bush?

*** The insiders vs. the outsiders: Speaking of the RNC confab in Charlotte, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal delivered a speech last night arguing, “We must stop being the stupid party. It's time for a new Republican party that talks like adults.” His main contention, per NBC’s Carrie Dann: Republicans need to get away from the budget battles of Washington, D.C. "We as Republicans have to accept that government number crunching -- even conservative number crunching -- is not the answer to our nation's problems." This highlights a striking split among the possible 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls. Some of them, because they’re governors, are pursuing an outside game. (See Jindal and also see Chris Christie’s criticism of congressional Republicans on the Hurricane Sandy relief.) And others, because they currently serve in Congress, are playing the inside game. (See Marco Rubio, who is pushing immigration reform, and Paul Ryan, who is now arguing that Republicans need to wisely pick their budget battles.) So your Invisible Primary bracket has already begun -- the insider’s bracket vs. the outsider’s bracket.

*** Obama, Hillary to conduct joint interview: And speaking of 2016, President Obama and Hillary Clinton are today taping a joint interview for “60 Minutes,” which will air on Sunday, NBC’s Kristen Welker confirms. This interview is only going to fuel speculation about Clinton’s possible presidential bid in ’16, and it looks like Obama is giving her a VERY BIG embrace. Moreover, you have to wonder what Vice President Biden is thinking about this interview.

*** Biden to talk about gun violence in Virginia: Biden, meanwhile, is heading to Richmond, Va., where he’s holding a roundtable discussion on gun violence Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Tim Kaine, and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott. The roundtable discussion takes place at 11:00 am ET.

*** Abortion opponents hold “March for Life” in DC: Finally today, coinciding with this week’s 40^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the “March for Life” in Washington takes place from noon ET to 1:30 pm ET. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), ex-Sen./ex-presidential candidate Rick Santorum, and others will speak.

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