Tea Party Firebrand To Challenge McCarthy For Majority Leader

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hide captionRep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, is making a long-shot bid to replace Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader.

John Miller/AP

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, is making a long-shot bid to replace Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader.

John Miller/AP

Two-term Idaho Republican Raul Labrador announced Friday he is throwing his hat into the ring for the chance to replace outgoing Rep. Eric Cantor as House majority leader.

Labrador's candidacy ensures that Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California will not go unchallenged for the chamber's No. 2 leadership spot, which opened up on Tuesday after Cantor's stunning primary loss to Tea Party challenger David Brat.

The fiery, Puerto Rico-born Labrador is closely aligned with the Tea Party. He was first elected in 2010 as part of the Republican wave that flipped control of the lower chamber to the GOP. He's been an outspoken critic of the party's leadership and was one of a handful of rank-and-file members who did not vote for John Boehner to return to the Speaker's post in January 2013.

He says he was "stunned" by Cantor's failed primary bid.

"Eric is a good friend and I have tremendous respect for him," the Idaho Republican said in a statement Friday. "But the message from Tuesday is clear – Americans are looking for a change in the status quo."

With Labrador's entry into the race, it gives the most conservative faction of the Republican caucus an alternative to the GOP establishment represented by McCarthy, the current House majority whip.

Labrador said he wants to see a House leadership team "that reflects the best of our conference ... [and] can help unite and grow our party.

"Americans don't believe their leaders in Washington are listening and now is the time to change that," he said.

By most expectations, Labrador is a long-shot to win the job as majority leader. McCarthy, by most reports, has all but sewn up the support necessary to prevail in the June 19 secret ballot.

Labrador's candidacy though provides another test of how unified the GOP conference is and whether the most conservative wing of the party can be successful in cracking the House leadership ranks.

St. Clair Inn furniture sale to benefit charity

ST. CLAIR, Mich. -- Furniture from the historic St. Clair Inn is being sold to help support a substance abuse rehabilitation program.

Jacqulynn Idzior, director of operations for Southeast Michigan Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center, tells the Times Herald of Port Huron (http://bwne.ws/1jom9PG ) that crews brought two truckloads of furniture to a Salvation Army store in Macomb County's Clinton Township.

Idzior says money from the sale of the furniture will help support the Salvation Army's 180-day drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

She says she didn't know who made the donation. The newspaper reports that it's wasn't clear who authorized the removal of the furniture from the 88-year-old St. Clair Inn. Located about 45 miles northeast of Detroit, the inn closed in January.

Celebrating Fatherhood and Encouraging Mentorship with “My Brother's Keeper”

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Justice blog. See the original post here.

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I would not be where I am today without the love, guidance, and support of my father. He taught me to work hard, to dream big, to give back to my community, and to always remember the responsibility I have to be a role model for my own children.

But as we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, we must all be mindful of a tragic truth: Far too many children simply cannot count on the love and support of an attentive parent. This is not an individual problem – it’s a national concern that affects each and every one of us. And that’s why President Obama has launched a national call to action – known as “My Brother’s Keeper” – that’s bringing together government and private groups to address persistent opportunity gaps and provide young people with the support they need to stay on the right path.

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5 Questions on "Making" and the White House Maker Faire

As OK Go helped us announce last week, President Obama is hosting the first-ever White House Maker Faire this coming Wednesday. In advance of that, I sat down with Dale Dougherty, CEO of Maker Media, to answer a few questions on what makes making, Making. Also, here are a few ways you can join in on a Day of Making in conjunction with the White House Maker Faire on June 18, including following and tweeting #NationOfMakers.

Phil Larson: What is “Making”?

Dale Dougherty: Making can be called creating, producing, crafting, shaping, tinkering, composing, and building. It covers many areas of interest and many skills, and projects often combine several of each. Making sits at the intersection of art and science, and at the crossroads of technology and design.

Today, Making is where hardware and software are re-connecting with each other, increasing our ability to sense the physical world and initiate actions that interact with us. This is what a robot does -- or autonomous vehicle or a solar-powered toy that comes alive by day.

When we Make things, we learn to gain control over tools and materials. Makers are using new tools and technologies that are democratizing production. With better tools, more people can make things because it is easier to take an idea and develop it into a physical thing.

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4 Takeaways From Hillary Clinton's 'Fresh Air' Interview

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hide captionHillary Clinton promotes her new book, Hard Choices, in Chicago on Wednesday. The former senator and secretary of state had a lively and much-talked-about chat this week with Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

Stacy Thacker/AP

Hillary Clinton promotes her new book, Hard Choices, in Chicago on Wednesday. The former senator and secretary of state had a lively and much-talked-about chat this week with Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

Stacy Thacker/AP

So when exactly did Hillary Clinton change her mind on same-sex marriage? That question was left unanswered in the former secretary of state's lively exchange with Fresh Air host Terry Gross.

The same-sex marriage portion of the interview made for compelling listening because of how much Clinton bridled at Terry's suggestion that she privately supported it long before she publicly endorsed it, and how much Terry kept asking the question. It was like a prizefight with two battlers refusing to back up.

The interview displayed a strength and vulnerability Clinton will have as a candidate if she decides to make another run for the Democratic presidential nomination. They're one and the same: her experience. That experience, combined with her obvious smarts, is what makes her such a challenging interview for a journalist.

But her experience also offers a lengthy record open to dissection, as Terry attempted, leaving Clinton to have to come up with plausible explanations for dozens of her decisions and actions over the decades.

That said, here are four takeaways from Clinton's Fresh Air interview:

1. Rare is the politician who has publicly admitted to holding or changing a position for political expedience. So it wasn't surprising that she would deny shifting her public position because the same-sex issue went from being politically unpopular to popular. In fairness, she may have evolved on the issue, like so many other Americans, in an organic way and publicly announced her change soon after it happened. But if she did change her stance, or the timing of her announcement of it, for political reasons, political best practices would dictate that she not admit that publicly.


2. Some have described as "testy" Clinton's response to Terry on the same-sex marriage question. "Testy" is clearly a negative description, but her response just as easily could have been described as "forceful," a more positive adjective. A large body of research suggests that when women are assertive, that's often read more negatively than when men are assertive. Maybe that's what's happening here. It's just something to keep in mind.


3. Clinton has to contend with both her record and her husband's. Terry asked her if she was glad that the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, which her husband, President Bill Clinton, signed in 1996. "Of course," Clinton said, explaining that DOMA was a compromise whose aim was in part to prevent even more discriminatory laws from passing Congress.


4. Defending her changed view on same-sex marriage, Clinton took a shot at those who operate in an "evidence-free zone" and "who believe they have a direct line to the divine" and "never want to change their mind about anything." Those are interesting points, coming from an American politician who, if she does run for president, will be appealing for the support of voters of faith. Many believers, Christians especially, talk of their personal relationship with God, which sounds a lot like a "direct line" to the Almighty.

And that's not even getting into the New Testament, where faith is described as pretty much an "evidence-free zone" — the "evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Maybe Terry can ask her about that if there's a follow-up interview.

Cantor's Defeat Brings An End To Prickly Relationship With Obama

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

As the dust settles on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary defeat, some have begun to reflect on his relationship with President Obama. From the very start, it was a prickly one, with divisions only deepening throughout Obama's time in office.

Week In Politics: The Fall Of Mosul And The Defeat Of Eric Cantor

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Regular political commentator David Brooks of The New York Times speaks with Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation about Iraq's disintegration and ramifications of Rep. Eric Cantor's defeat.

Tract Issued By Theologians Takes On Money In Politics

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hide captionReligious voices have entered the campaign finance debate, with a tract titled "Lo$ing Faith In Our Democracy."

jswinborne/iStockphoto

Religious voices have entered the campaign finance debate, with a tract titled "Lo$ing Faith In Our Democracy."

jswinborne/iStockphoto

In a newly issued report, a group of 11 theologians goes where the pols and lawyers dare not tread, with a faith-based analysis of money's role in politics. In "Lo$ing Faith In Our Democracy," published by Auburn Theological Seminary in New York, you can guess where it comes down on the big questions.

The tract asserts that the current political money system — with superPACs, secretive social welfare organizations and unlimited contributions — "does not take into account the needs of the poor."

It says that although corporations draw criticism for political activism, "incorporated groups can be powerful vessels for holiness." It also makes three points about justice: that it calls for fair procedures and fair outcomes, comes "through a multiplicity of voices," and is distorted by bribes.

A few highlights:

• Professor William Cavanaugh, of DePaul University's Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology, writes that modern politics, where wealthy funders have the most opportunity for political speech, "is upside-down."


• Rabbi Aryeh Klapper, dean of the Center for Modern Torah Leadership, addresses the Supreme Court's rulings that the only form of political corruption is a direct, quid pro quo exchange between donor and politician. Historically, rabbis presumed that all contributions produce influence, Klapper says, and believing otherwise "would be Jewishly viewed as dangerously naive."

And Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals For Social Action, argues for fair outcomes from a political money system. He says biblical justice calls for fair procedures but rejects "the Marxist ideal of equal outcomes." His conclusion: "Do unlimited political contributions tend to promote economic justice for everyone? Or do they largely promote the self-interest of a small powerful minority?"

Now, back to the regular attack ads.

Financial Disclosure Reports Now Available

Public Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE Form 278) for White House officials are now available. Interested parties may request reports electronically by completing the application form available here.

Once the application form is submitted, reports will be sent via email in PDF format as quickly as possible. Please call the press office if you have any questions.

West Wing Week 06/13/14 or, "I Am Hip to All These Things"

This week, the President commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, hosted his first-ever Tumblr Q&A, and spoke to graduates of Worcester Technical High School.

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