Top story: You know Hillary Clinton’s testimony went bad for Republicans when even Rush Limbaugh isn’t smiling.
- The verdict for Republicans’ 6-hour Benghazi interrogation of Hillary Clinton in just three words: “They blew it.” (Slate)
- Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who said Clinton got “emotional” to avoid his questions, is whiping the egg off his face as he slowly walks backwards from those claims. (The Huffington Post)
- Even Rush Limbaugh sounded defeated: “Basically she got a Get Out of Jail Free Card. Now it’s time to take a look down the road at the future, make sure that all the ducks are in a row.” (She the People)
- Of course, this is Hillary Clinton. And even during the often tense exchanges, Republicans and Democrats alike couldn’t help but make 2016 allusions. (Bloomberg)
Gun control, anyone?
- Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduces her assault weapons ban–with actual assault weapons (w/ pic). (Ed O’Keefe)
- “The bill will exempt firearms used for hunting and will grandfather in guns and magazines owned before the law’s potential enactment. However, the grandfathered weapons will be logged in a national registry.” (The Hill)
- Most Republicans might actually like gun control initiatives–like full background checks and a ban on high-capacity clips–if only Obama wasn’t the one who had proposed them. (The Fix)
- Of course, another big problem is getting red and purple state Democratic senators to sign on to an assault weapons ban. (The New York Times)
- The claim that the Brady Law prevented 1.5 million people from buying a firearms–the one that the gun industry says is totally false? Totally true. (Fact Checker)
Economy rebounding-ish
- Jobless claims fall to 5-year low. To put that in perspective, the last time those numbers were this low, George W. Bush still had one year left in office. (Reuters)
- Oh, and President Obama is a big spender. But only if you look at this chart upside down. (Mother Jones)
- Al Gore is now wealthier than Mitt Romney. You know what? I and my bank account would like to lose a presidential election, please. (Swampland)
And in other news…
- There’s nothing worse than Republican attempts to gerrymander their way to a 2016 presidential win–save for how Virginia Republicans are going about it. (Slate)
- Heck, you know even Stephen Colbert is talking about it. (Stephen Colbert)
- Reince Priebus keeps what may be the best piece of memorabilia of the 2012 campaign in his office: The Eastwood chair. (Political Ticker)
John Flowers