Obama Puts Minimum Wage Front and Center...
Obama highlights minimum wage proposal by eating at CT diner that pays workers $10/hr. W. Post: "The diner’s owner 'knows what it’s like to work all his life, and he understands that if people are working hard they shouldn’t be in poverty and that we should be able to do everything we can to make sure that happens,' said Obama, who was served a Korean spicy beef barbecue sandwich ... as Obama laid out the reasons why raising wages would be good for businesses, a woman shouted: 'It’s common sense!'"
WH pushes back on CBO report. NYT: "Republicans say lifting the wage would cost jobs, pointing to a report last month by the Congressional Budget Office, which asserted that raising the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour [c]ould result in a loss of 500,000 jobs. A smaller increase, it said, would cost fewer jobs. But the White House disputes that analysis, saying a higher wage would lift the middle class and generate jobs by giving people more money to spend on goods and services."
"Democrats Turn To Social Security For Political Momentum" reports National Journal: "[Arkansas] Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor has deployed a blitz of TV ads to accuse his opponent, GOP Rep. Tom Cotton, of plotting to cut, privatize and undermine the popular entitlement program ... in Florida, where the parties face off in a special House election next week, Social Security has been the party's go-to attack against Republican David Jolly ... It's dictated in part by the real estate of the 2014 election: Most of this year's competitive House and Senate races – like those in Arkansas or Louisiana – are in conservative, older, and whiter states."
...While Ryan Tries To Rally a Resistant GOP Around An Agenda
Rep. Paul Ryan to step up attacks on Dem agenda, promote "conservative reform." W. Post: "That scathing synopsis of the Democrats' pitch will be the crux of Paul Ryan's message to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday ... He goes on to praise other Republicans, such as Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), for their legislative endeavors, and plays down the idea of a GOP civil war, arguing the party is having a 'battle of ideas,' albeit one that is occasionally 'messy.'"
But GOP still doesn't have its own economic plan. Politico: "...they don’t all think they need one and those who do can’t agree on a unified view. But some prominent Republicans are warning their compatriots that they need to get their act together — because just running against the Obama record isn’t going to be enough ... influential conservatives argue that Republicans will never gain a mandate for their economic ideas if they don’t start building it now."
Conservatives Gather for CPAC
An "increasingly fractured conservative movement" to convene, says Daily Beast's Patricia Murphy: "On the list is Jenny Beth Martin, head of the Tea Party Patriots. Off the list is House Speaker John Boehner, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington who has run afoul of the far right flank of the GOP ... On the list is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the embattled 2016 hopeful who has suddenly gained favor with the right after two months of abuse from the mainstream media over his bridge scandal. Off the list are Mitt Romney and John McCain..."
Can Rand win the 2016 straw poll, asks Politico: "Rand Paul won last year in the immediate wake of his antidrone filibuster, edging out Marco Rubio — who has subsequently taken a hit in public polls over his stewardship of comprehensive immigration reform."
