Hotline Sort: All You Need Is (Mia) Love

By Julie Sobel  //  August 22, 2012 | 8:30 a.m.

Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Akin doesn't rule out withdrawing in morning TV interviews, Baldwin hits Thompson on releasing tax returns, the House runoff in Georgia's 12th District is too close to call, and Bo needs to cool it on the treats.

11) Let's Move, Bo edition: The first dog is on a diet.

10) Haven't been following the Wyoming Senate race? The Democratic primary was last night, and GOP Sen. John Barrasso will face Tim Chestnut, whose campaign slogan is "Chesnut is the best nut for Senate." Read more on the wacky Democratic primary here.

9) Mia Love, the GOP challenger to Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, gets a primetime speaking spot at the Republican National Convention.

8) The Miami Herald has a story on how GOP Rep. David Rivera may have broken laws by funding a Democrat's primary bid. The Herald:

Fueled with $43,000 in secret money, Republican Rep. David Rivera helped run a shadow campaign that might have broken federal laws in last week's Democratic primary against his political nemesis Joe Garcia, according to campaign sources and finance records.

7) Wisconsin Democratic Senate nominee Tammy Baldwin released a new television ad hitting opponent Tommy Thompson for not releasing his tax returns. "What's he hiding?" asks the narrator.

6) The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released an IE ad in Montana. The spot hits GOP Rep. Denny Rehberg as a "millionaire, and one of Congress's wealthiest members" for voting 5 times to raise his own pay but 10 times against raising the minimum wage.

5) Americans for Prosperity launched at $2.7 million ad buy targeting Democrats in five Senate races: Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Martin Heinrich in New Mexico, Shelley Berkley in Nevada, and Tim Kaine in Virginia. 4) The GOP House runoff in Georgia's 12th District was too close to call this morning. See our full wrap of the runoff results here. 3) Late night Akin news: Sarah Palin (R) was on FNC's "On the Record" Tuesday night. She said Akin should drop out but that if he didn't by the drop-dead September 25 deadline, she suggested a third party run by the candidate she had supported in the Missouri primary, former Treasurer Sarah Steelman. Akin was also working to raise money via Twitter last night, with one tweet reading "A lot of negativity has been driven my way by the liberal elite. Makes me even more thankful for your support." The "liberal elite" is quite the stretch given that everyone from Palin to Romney has called for him to exit the race. 2) Early morning Akin news: The Congressman appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today Show." He didn't rule out withdrawing before the second deadline on September 25. In the New York Post, John Podhoretz writes why he doesn't think Akin will quit. 1) In the midst of the Akin furor, the DNC announced that the convention will feature the leaders of the country's two largest abortion rights groups. Beth Reinhard:

The leaders of the two largest abortion rights groups in the country are among a slew of prominent women expected to escalate attacks on Republican nominee Mitt Romney's positions on women's issues at the upcoming Democratic convention. The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday was releasing a list of female speakers heavy with symbolism, including Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund; Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America; Lily Ledbetter, the inspiration for the equal pay law signed by President Obama; and Sandra Fluke, the former law school student insulted by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for advocating health insurance coverage of birth control.


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Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Steve Shepard, Executive Editor
Julie Sobel, Editor
Kevin Brennan, Deputy Editor


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