TAX DAY, Durbin fundraising signals run for reelection, Schism in gun lobby over Manchin-Toomey bill, Rubio"s TV blitz, Giffords on Hill, Joe Miller explores second Senate bid

(swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

With an assist from Manu Raju.

DURBIN RAISES $ 736K IN Q1, SIGNALS RUN FOR REELECTION – Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has filed campaign finance reports showing he’s raised significant cash in the first quarter, a strong sign the 68-year-old Illinois Democrat is running for a fourth term in 2014. From a Democratic source familiar with the figures: “Even before officially announcing his candidacy for reelection, Senator Dick Durbin, raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars in the first quarter of 2013 and has $ 3.23 million cash on hand. Holding only about a dozen events over the first quarter, Durbin’s haul is impressive and shows he has continued to be a strong fundraiser even without a formal campaign announcement. In total, Durbin raised $ 736,166.29 in the first quarter from 1,888 donors – 1091 of whom were first-time contributors to the Senator. Nearly 70% of his contributions were under $ 100 and more that 70% of his contributors were from Illinois. Durbin continues to grow his strong grassroots support across Illinois. Even without a formal campaign announcement, Durbin is in a strong financial position at the start of the 2014 cycle.” http://bit.ly/Yp8wWg

A SCHISM IN GUN LOBBY OVER MANCHIN-TOOMEY BACKGROUND CHECKS BILL – Tom Hamburger and Ed O’Keefe write on A1 of the Washington Post: “In anticipation of Senate votes this week on a proposed expansion of criminal background checks for firearms sales, one gun rights organization broke with the powerful National Rifle Association on Sunday to urge support for a compromise drafted by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.). The endorsement by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms — which calls itself the second-largest gun rights organization in the country, behind the NRA, claiming 650,000 members and supporters — is one of several moves over the past few days that have provided a boost to the hopes of proponents of background checks. While leading gun-control advocates — including President Obama and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) — back the bipartisan proposal, the announcement of support Sunday from the Citizens Committee reveals that substantial parts of the bill are viewed as ‘wins’ for the gun lobby, including provisions that would prohibit a government registry of gun ownership and make it easier to transport and market weapons across state lines.

– “Though news of a split in the usually unified gun lobby cheered gun-control advocates, the gun lobby can count other probable wins in the current debate, such as the likely defeat of legislation to limit military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Now, an expansion of background-check requirements for gun sales is considered the most likely major achievement. … The compromise measure, drafted by Toomey and Manchin, would require background checks for currently exempt online and gun-show sales but not for most other private transactions.

– “There were other signs of momentum on gun-control legislation over the weekend, including a tentative expression of support for the Toomey-Manchin compromise on Sunday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an endorsement by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and indications of backing from several House Republicans, including some who have had previous endorsements from the NRA. Officially, only three Republican senators — Toomey, Collins and Mark Kirk (Ill.) — have said they plan to vote for the Manchin-Toomey agreement. Democratic aides say the bill will need the backing of at least six Republican senators to pass. The measure still has a long and tortuous path, with dozens of amendments expected. The Senate is scheduled to begin formal debate Tuesday by first considering the plan to expand the gun background-check program.” http://wapo.st/17B6ARk

MANCHIN AND TOOMEY GET THE ‘SNL’ TREATMENT. Watch here as they open the show: http://bit.ly/ZvN3Kv

New York Times, A1, “Rifts in Both Parties Complicate Odds for Gun Measure,” By Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman: http://nyti.ms/ZkHPoZ

FEWER AMERICANS VIEW INCOME TAXES AS FAIR – Gallup: “This Tax Day, 55% of Americans regard the income taxes they have to pay as fair, the lowest percentage Gallup has measured since 2001. The results are based on Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 4-7, and annually since 2001. The recent high in Americans’ perceptions that their taxes were fair, 64%, came in 2003, after President Bush signed tax cuts into law and weeks after the Iraq war began.” http://bit.ly/17cYWJL

IS WASHINGTON SPENDING YOUR TAX DOLLARS WISELY? – Bankrupting America, a project of Public Notice, is out with a new tax day video, “Your Tax Dollars At Work,” asking everyday Americans whether they feel Washington is spending their tax dollars wisely. The video highlights concerns for the way money is being spent in Washington, including reactions to recent headlines exposing real government waste. Watch it here:  http://bit.ly/116zt1s Fact sheet: http://bit.ly/103xVLN

RUBIO IS EVERYWHERE: SENATOR DOES SEVEN SUNDAY SHOW INTERVIEWS – Ginger Gibson reports for POLITICO: “Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday began his public campaign to win over conservative support for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws, appearing on a record-setting seven network news programs. Rubio offered a finely calibrated pitch designed to alleviate conservative concerns about reform. He pushed back against claims that a pathway to citizenship is tantamount to amnesty. He rebutted arguments that an agreement would impose dramatic new costs on taxpayers. And he defended the changes as necessary to keep the border secure. ‘What we have in place today, the status quo, is horrible for America,’ the Florida Republican said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ …

– “Rubio’s appearances launch a pivotal week in the efforts of the Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of senators working on immigration legislation. The group is expected to unveil its compromise plan on Tuesday, bringing an end to months of speculation about what the final bill will look like. In addition to appearing on the usual five network Sunday morning programs — on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox — Rubio also appeared on Univision and Telemundo. The high-profile push from Rubio is sure to stoke talks that he’s positioning for a run for president in 2016. He’s considered a favorite in the field of potential Republican candidates.” http://politi.co/Zqj3k7

RUBIO’S IMMIGRATION GAMBLE: A1, Washington Post, “Rubio takes big risk on immigration legislation: Senator’s endorsement of bipartisan plan could prove costly in 2016,” By David Nakamura: “[I]n many ways, the senators’ negotiations, behind the scenes and in public, have hinged on a party of one. Rubio, the tea party favorite whose parents emigrated from Cuba, has been considered the most crucial player all along. Although he has seemed to waver at times, his full-throated endorsement of the bill Sunday, in a marathon round of seven television interviews, put at ease a group of colleagues who have been working hard to ensure he stays the course. [Dick] Durbin wasn’t the only one who reached out to Rubio. The senator from Florida was added to the group after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear to Graham and McCain that Rubio’s participation would be critical to winning conservative support. President Obama phoned Rubio, who was traveling in Israel, after the senator dismissed details of an administration immigration plan leaked to the media in February. And Schumer called Rubio two weeks ago to confirm his support after the Republican publicly expressed skepticism about the pace of negotiations.

– “By joining the cause, the potential 2016 presidential candidate has set himself down a politically risky path — one that could pay big dividends but is likely to become even more treacherous after details of the bill become public. Shortly after Rubio’s talk-show appearances, NumbersUSA, a conservative anti-immigration group, issued a statement denouncing the ‘Obama-Rubio-Schumer’ deal. And Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) charged that his colleagues had ‘abandoned’ a pledge to make border security the highest priority.” http://wapo.st/17cQI4n

BUSINESSES GEAR UP FOR IMMIGRATION FIGHT – Anna Palmer reports for POLITICO: “The business community has long supported the idea of immigration reform — particularly the high-tech sector and the construction industry, which badly need the workers. What they don’t support are some of the specifics leaking out on a new immigration reform proposal expected Tuesday from the Gang of Eight. Now, companies and trade groups — that have been pressuring the key Senate negotiators — are preparing to unleash their lobbying forces broadly on Capitol Hill in hopes of securing changes to the package. And that could spell trouble for the bill since any significant change to even a single element could scuttle the delicately reached bargain, leaving final passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in serious jeopardy.” http://politi.co/17afh1X

DEM GROUP HITS GOP SENATORS ON IMMIGRATION – The Bridge Project, the Democratic-aligned American Bridge 21^st Century’s 501(c)(4),  is releasing a report today highlighting what it calls past extreme comments on immigration and the anti-immigrant funders of some of the key conservatives in the Senate, including members of the Gang of Eight: Marco Rubio, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, David Vitter and Chuck Grassley.  The report, titled “Barriers to Reform: The anti-immigrant and extremist money blocking progress in the Senate,” states: “As immigration reform moves forward in the Senate the success of any legislation will depend on the cooperation of conservative lawmakers with troubling histories on the issue.  However, it is not only their past policy positions and quotes that are disturbing.  These key conservative Senators also share a history of campaign contributors who also fund extremist anti-immigrant organizations, including those labeled as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.” Read the report here: http://ab21.org/BarriersToReform

DESPITE GANGS, McCONNELL IN NO MOOD FOR BIPARTISANSHIP – John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman report for the hometown paper: “Mitch McConnell still hasn’t gotten over December’s traumatic fiscal cliff showdown. The Senate minority leader has signaled privately that he has no interest in sitting in the same room as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to discuss a possible ‘grand bargain’ on budget and tax issues, Senate insiders tell POLITICO. McConnell is fine with talking to Obama — just talking at this point — but he doesn’t want Reid there when it happens. Such is life in Congress, where hope of bipartisanship is giving way to the same old toxic relations. From the outside, the Senate appeared to have the bipartisan thing down this spring: so called ‘gangs’ of senators have hashed out agreements on guns and immigration. President Barack Obama has had two dinners with Senate Republicans and traveled up to the Hill to meet with lawmakers from both chambers. But the good feelings have really been only in the Senate, and only among a minority of Republicans to boot. Bad blood remains between party leaders and the national partisan realities haven’t changed.

– “[R]elationships among the other 98 senators will be tested when voting begins on the controversial gun and immigration measures — starting with this week’s expected vote on expanding background checks for firearms purchases. McConnell plans to pull out all the stops to block the bill, and GOP senators are blasting any immigration plan that they say smells of ‘amnesty.’” http://politi.co/17aczJO

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GOOD MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 15, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

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TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House is in at noon with votes expected around 6:30 p.m. Legislation considered under suspension of the rules include the GAO Improvement Act, Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act, The Contracting and Tax Accountability Act and District of Columbia CFO Vacancy Act.

The Senate is in at 2 p.m. and will consider the nominations of Beverly O’Connell to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California and Derrick Watson to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Hawaii. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a roll call vote on the O’Connell nomination.

AROUND THE HILL – House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, Reps. Hank Johnson and Pete Gallego and Voto Latino speak on immigration reform at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. From noon to 3 p.m., Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Justin Amash, Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo and Tom Price address over 1,000 FreedomWorks activists at Upper Senate Park to launch “The New Fair Deal,” which promotes ending corporate handouts, crafting a flatter tax code, passing spending reform, and empowering individuals with the choice to opt out of government-run entitlement programs.

To kick off the Executive Branch Review Project, Sen. Mike Lee and Federalist Society founder and Vice ChairmanDavid McIntosh host a conference call at 4 p.m. to prompt a national debate about whether there has been an uptick in regulatory activity and the consequences surrounding it. http://bit.ly/14pk0kK For the dial-in number, please amorris@crcpublicrelations.com or call 703.683.5004 x123.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY

– Gabby Giffords will lobby for gun control on Capitol Hill this week. “We’re going to be on Capitol Hill,” her husband, Mark Kelly, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We’re going to be continuing to push for this extended background check bill and hopefully we’ll get it out of the Senate and over to the House.” Ginger Gibson for POLITICO:  http://politi.co/Zs8HQZ

– Sen. Marco Rubio to Jay-Z: Get informed: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is of Cuban descent, says Jay-Z, who just visited Cuba, should get up to speed on the issues. ‘Jay-Z needs to get informed,’ Rubio said Sunday on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘One of his heroes is Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a racist. Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself on the guy that he’s propping up.’” http://politi.co/17d3foq

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said “nothing’s off the table” when asked about a possible New Hampshire Senate bid, The Hill’s Cameron Joseph reports: http://bit.ly/ZVMyt9

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had no comment on a possible New York mayoral bid by former Rep. Anthony Weiner, writes The Hill’s Kevin Bogardus: http://bit.ly/137a1vs

EYEING MAYOR’S RACE, WEINER RELEASES ISSUES BOOKLET — Michael M. Grynbaum reports for the NYT: “As he seeks to extend the discussion about a possible candidacy for mayor — and shift attention away from the online sex-messaging scandal that cost him his Congressional seat — Anthony D. Weiner released a 21-page policy booklet on Sunday that he described as a blueprint for keeping New York City ‘the capital of the middle class.’ The document, named ‘Keys to the City,’ was largely drawn from a booklet of the same title, theme, and format that he distributed five years ago, in anticipation of a mayoral bid in 2009 that he later abandoned. Mr. Weiner, who said the report was intended merely to ‘generate some discussion,’ did expand on his old ideas and added a few new ones, including a city-run single-payer health care program; a requirement that sex offenders wear GPS tags for easy tracking; and a British House of Commons-style ‘question time’ for New York City’s mayor.” http://nyti.ms/12d6ehe

CYBERSECURITY: CONGRESS’ NEW OLD FIGHT – Tony Romm writes for the hometown paper: “Battling rogue hackers and digital spies — it’s precisely the sort of cutting-edge challenge that typically confounds Congress. But the cybersecurity debate about to begin in the House this week is merely a more modern take on an old political fight: a classic lobbying battle set against the backdrop of a post-Sept. 11 struggle between privacy and security. Virtually all of Washington believes the government and industry should exchange data about new cyberthreats — not unlike regulators in the not-too-distant past who shared a desire to find new methods of preventing terrorism. In both debates, however, it’s always been about the details. And on cybersecurity, Congress, the White House, private companies and interest groups just don’t see eye to eye. Each side is lobbying hard to shape the final product as regulators realize it’s difficult to safeguard civil liberties while thwarting the sort of attacks that might darken a city or disrupt Wall Street trading.” http://politi.co/10WcCa1

CONGRESS SCALES BACK STOCK ACT, BLOCKS ONLINE POSTINGS FOR AIDES, STAFFERS – Seung Min Kim reports for POLITICO: “Congress has quickly and quietly moved to considerably scale back financial disclosure requirements that were mandated by the STOCK Act last year after a report released last month raised security concerns about posting the information online. The House on Friday cleared a bill by voice vote that would exempt congressional aides and executive branch staffers from a requirement that they post financial disclosures online. The requirement would still apply to the president, vice president, lawmakers and congressional candidates and positions that require Senate confirmation. The Senate cleared the legislation, also by unanimous consent, Thursday night.

–“Open government groups are slamming the bill, charging Congress with overreacting to worries that could be addressed with more modest changes to the law. They were especially irked by the decision to remove congressional aides from the requirement to post financial details online — viewing it as a “knee-jerk” reaction to a legitimate security issue involving executive branch officials.” http://politi.co/10VbvZK

LABOR NOMINEE PEREZ FACES TOUGHER GOP SCRUTINY – Evan Perez reports for the Wall Street Journal: “Republican lawmakers are stepping up their challenge to the credibility of President Barack Obama’s labor-secretary nominee, saying testimony he gave congressional investigators was contradicted by other government officials. Democrats counter that Thomas Perez, currently the top civil-rights lawyer at the Justice Department, was doing his job of protecting civil rights. The dueling messages come in reports from the two parties to be released Monday—ahead of confirmation hearings this week—about a deal Mr. Perez helped engineer with St. Paul, Minn. The city agreed to drop a Supreme Court case that civil-rights advocates feared could weaken enforcement of housing-discrimination law. In exchange, the Justice Department declined to join two unrelated private lawsuits involving the city’s housing program. Part of the controversy is fueled by emails and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that appear to show Mr. Perez trying to keep his role in the St. Paul deal and its full terms from becoming public. Those documents have been cited by GOP lawmakers who allege that Mr. Perez, a political appointee, was overruling career lawyers who had made opposite recommendations. Mr. Perez told congressional investigators in March that he was attempting to expedite handling of the matter, not trying to keep certain aspects secret.” http://on.wsj.com/119NblA

JOE MILLER EXPLORING SECOND SENATE RUN – Kyle Trygstad reports for Roll Call: “Joe Miller, the tea-party-backed Alaska Republican who lost a 2010 Senate race, announced on Sunday that he is launching an exploratory committee as he considers another Senate campaign. The announcement comes just two days after first-term Democratic Sen. Mark Begich announced raising almost $ 1 million in the first fundraising quarter of the cycle. It also comes after a tumultuous week at the state Republican Party, which ousted yet another chairman. ‘For several months now, my wife and I have engaged in serious reflection about our family, Alaska, and the state of our nation,’ Miller said in an email to supporters. ‘After consultation with our political advisers, trusted friends, and many of our 2010 volunteers, we have decided to test the waters for a 2014 US Senate run.’ In a full statement posted to his website, Miller asks for donations and states that he is attempting to determine whether ‘grassroots Republicans’ will ‘step up and join us in the fight for freedom.’” http://bit.ly/16XPMmj

FORMER OHIO REP. CHARLIE WILSON DEAD AT 70 – Ellen Jan Kleinerman writes for The Plain Dealer: “Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson died Sunday in a Florida hospital following complications associated with a stroke that he suffered in February.  Wilson, 70, died with his family by his side, according to a spokesman from his office.  The Democrat represented Ohio’s 6th Congressional district. ‘Throughout his extraordinary life, Congressman Wilson was motivated by a desire to serve his country and a passion for the causes most important to the constituents of Southeast and East Ohio,’ family members said in a statement.  Wilson was elected to the Ohio House in 1996 where he served until 2004 when he was elected to the Ohio Senate. He won a write-in campaign in 2006 filling the congressional seat vacated by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. He lost the seat in 2010 to Republican Bill Johnson.” http://bit.ly/116CBKN

FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Ross Kapilian was first to correctly answer that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television. It occurred at the opening of the New York World’s Fair on April 30, 1939.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Ross Kapilian has today’s question: Which professional sports league has had the most representation in Congress, and who were the players in that league? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

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Keynotes from the Hon. Jeff Merkley and the Hon. Johnny Isakson; panels on mortgage finance and the future of housing demand moderated by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos and CNBC’s Diana Olick.

When and where: Thursday, April 18 from 8:00 am-12:30 pm. Knight Conference Center at the Newseum.

FREE registration: http://zlw.re/ZillowForum.

POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle

TAX DAY, Durbin fundraising signals run for reelection, Schism in gun lobby over Manchin-Toomey bill, Rubio"s TV blitz, Giffords on Hill, Joe Miller explores second Senate bid

BUDGET DAY, Weiner eyes comeback, McConnell: Our campaign was "bugged," Manchin-Toomey gun deal close, Immigration bill Thurs?, Kelly wins House seat, trivia

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(swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)

BUDGET DAY: OBAMA’S $ 3.77T BUDGET CALLS FOR TAXES ON RICH BUT ALSO ENTITLEMENT CUTS – President Obama’s 2014 fiscal blueprint was being delivered to Capitol Hill this morning, but the White House had already released some of the highlights. Reid J. Epstein writes for the hometown paper: “The budget itself represents some level of concession, White House aides say, arguing that Obama still would prefer a grand bargain that would completely rethink spending and revenue — though only one that comes on his terms. But even after weeks of outreach to Republicans following Obama’s beat-‘em-up campaign to stop the sequester cuts failed, that kind of deal still isn’t on the table. So they’re back to the budget duel: House Republicans want major cuts. Obama wants big revenues from the rich.

– “His $ 3.77 trillion proposal would reduce the deficit by $ 1.8 trillion by adding $ 580 billion in new taxes on the wealthy, according to senior administration officials. It also includes an estimated $ 230 billion in savings by reducing cost-of-living adjustments for federal entitlement programs. But all of those cuts — which White House aides say the president is ready to make — depend on whether Republicans agree to new tax revenues, including requiring people who make $ 1 million or more to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes and limiting deductions for the top 2 percent of earners. ‘If they refuse to include revenues in any deal, then there will be no deal. It’s that simple,’ a senior administration official said in a briefing call with reporters Tuesday.” http://politi.co/ZMwXMt See an overview of Obama’s budget here: http://politi.co/YjbXlG

OBAMA’S BUDGET MUDDLE – Glenn Thrush and Byron Tau report for POLITICO: On Wednesday, Senate Republicans will break bread with President Barack Obama at the White House. On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders, the most liberal member of the Senate Democratic caucus, was standing outside the gates rebuking Obama for selling out seniors. That jarring juxtaposition captures the upside-down political dynamic of Obama’s new budget proposal, due to be released Wednesday: Its centerpiece is a highly controversial plan to trim Social Security cost-of-living increases — a move one longtime Obama adviser called a ‘goodwill gesture’ to Republicans and liberals decry as a shocking departure from Obama’s 2012 campaign rhetoric, a betrayal that warrants retribution. So far, there is scant evidence that Republicans view Obama’s ‘chained CPI’ proposal as a sign of good will. And there are plenty of people on the left who regard it as a sign of bad will—a departure from the message that won Obama a second-term and new occasion for doubting the president’s negotiating skills.” http://politi.co/ZMsp8P

– A dozen GOP senators are expected to dine with Obama tonight, including Sens. Johnny Isakson (Ga.), John Thune (S.D.) and Orrin Hatch (Utah.). Isakson will release the full list today but none are said to have attended last month’s dinner with senators at a nearby hotel.

– In an interview with POLITICO’s Jon Allen and Mike Allen, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says Democrats aren’t ready to embrace Obama’s ‘chained CPI” plan. Watch video of the interview and read the story here: http://politi.co/12GInoR

WEINER EYES COMEBACK, MAYOR’S RACE – Maggie Haberman writes for POLITICO: “In a sweeping confessional interview published Wednesday, Anthony Weiner provided his first explanation of the bizarre behavior that led to his downfall, compared his wife’s circumstance to that of Hillary Clinton’s after the Monica Lewinsky scandal — and acknowledged he’s eagerly looking at a political comeback this year. The New York Times Magazine interview with Weiner and his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, has been the talk of New York’s political world for the past week. It is a building block of a political return by the former Queens congressman, who resigned after admitting that a lewd tweet sent from his account, which he’d claimed had been hacked, was in fact his own doing. The piece is the first time Weiner and Abedin have spoken at length about the rapid-fire events of 2011 that led him to resign his seat: the tweet he sent thinking it was a private message, the exposure by Andrew Breitbart’s site, the days of claiming he was the victim of a crime and then the ultimate, tearful confession at a Midtown press conference. http://politi.co/ZMtFss

– Jonathan Van Meter writes in the NYT Magazine piece: “At breakfast, Weiner quickly put all the speculation to rest: he is eyeing the mayor’s race. He told me that his political committee spent more than $ 100,000 on polling and research by Obama’s longtime pollster, David Binder (a detail that would be made public — and prompt a flurry of news reports — in mid-March when a spending report was filed with the city’s Campaign Finance Board). The focus of the poll, Binder says, was the question “Are voters willing to give him a second chance or not, regardless of what race or what contest?” And the answer? “There was this sense of ‘Yeah, he made a mistake. Let’s give him a second chance. But there are conditions on that, and there are a couple of things we’re going to want to know: What have you been doing since this incident occurred? Did you learn anything from this mistake? How did you deal with it?’ They want to know that they’ve put it behind them.” http://nyti.ms/10SLnMg

McCONNELL CLAIMS THE LEFT ‘BUGGED’ HIS CAMPAIGN HQ, ‘NIXONIAN’ TACTICS – Siobhan Hughes writes in the Wall Street Journal: “Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Tuesday accused ‘the political left in America’ of engaging in ‘Nixonian’ political tactics, reacting to the publication of an audio tape of a McConnell re-election strategy session. Mother Jones magazine published an article Tuesday based on the tape, in which campaign aides discussed how to attack potential rival Ashley Judd. Mr. McConnell told reporters:  ‘Last month, they were attacking my wife’s ethnicity’ — a reference to a tweet by a liberal group claiming wife Elaine Chao moved U.S. jobs to China– ‘and then apparently also unbeknownst to us they were bugging our headquarters – quite  a Nixonian move.’ He added:  ‘This is what you get from the political left in America.’ Ms. Chao, who was born in Taiwan, was labor secretary during the George W. Bush administration.

– “In a statement on its website, Mother Jones said: “As the story makes clear, we were recently provided the tape by a source who wished to remain anonymous. We were not involved in the making of the tape, but we published a story on the tape due to its obvious newsworthiness. It is our understanding that the tape was not the product of a Watergate-style bugging operation. We cannot comment beyond that.’ The tape of the McConnell strategy session begins with Mr. McConnell saying, ‘I assume most of you have played the, the game Whac-A-Mole? This is the Whac-A-Mole period of the campaign,’ to try to identify and attack potential contenders, according to the transcript posted by Mother Jones.” http://on.wsj.com/10SFQVZ

– Mother Jones’ David Korn, who broke the story, writes that the McConnell campaign discusses raising Judd’s past history with mental illness: “[T]he McConnell gang explored going far beyond Judd’s politics and policy preferences. This included her mental health. The meeting leader noted: ‘She’s clearly, this sounds extreme, but she is emotionally unbalanced. I mean it’s been documented. Jesse can go in chapter and verse from her autobiography about, you know, she’s suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the ’90s.’” http://bit.ly/YjkHZ0

– At the request of the McConnell campaign, the FBI is looking into the matter, POLITICO’s Lois Romano and Kevin Robillard reports: http://politi.co/10OSxmn

MANCHIN, TOOMEY SAY THEY’RE CLOSE TO GUN DEAL – John Bresnahan and Reid Epstein reports for POLITICO: “Sen. Joe Manchin says he is on the verge of a bipartisan deal to expand background checks for gun sales, an agreement that could lead to the biggest change in U.S. gun laws in nearly 20 years. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, has been meeting with conservative GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania over the past week to try to forge a deal on background checks. Following a briefing with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Manchin told reporters the two sides were very close to an agreement. … Signaling that they had reached consensus, Manchin and Toomey announced Tuesday night they would be holding a joint press conference on expanded background checks on Wednesday at 11 a.m. …

– “Reid moved Tuesday night to start debate over a gun control package that is a wish list for gun control advocates. Reid filed a cloture motion that sets up a Thursday vote to end a GOP filibuster of the motion to proceed to that gun bill. In order to gather 60 votes, Reid and other senior Democrats believe they can hold on to their own nervous members from red states, while picking up 10 or so Republicans.” http://politi.co/Z6339T

–The WSJ editorial board’s lead op-ed says Ted Cruz and his fellow Republicans have “misfired” in filibustering the gun bill: “The President’s calculation seems to be that even if gun control fails, at least he’ll have a keep-kids-safe political issue to help flip the House back to Democratic control in the next midterm. In that sense his inflammatory rhetoric is meant to bait Republicans, some of whom are biting.  If conservatives want to prove their gun-control bona fides, the way to do it is to debate the merits and vote on the floor. They can always filibuster the final bill if they want to, but it makes no sense to paint themselves into a political box canyon before even knowing what they’re voting on.” http://on.wsj.com/ZEB3gP

‘GANG OF EIGHT’ IMMIGRATION BILL COULD COME THURSDAY – Mike Allen reports for POLITICO: “The Senate’s immigration Gang of Eight plans to announce a deal within a week but a committee markup is not expected until at least the week of May 6, providing a long period for debate and changes, Senate aides said Tuesday. Aides said the legislative proposal could be released as soon as Thursday, but is more likely to be ready early next week. The schedule outlined by the aides is meant to satisfy Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has said repeatedly that he wants a full debate and amendment process, to maximize the chances that the final vote is an overwhelming majority.” http://politi.co/ZgUwOD

Wall Street Journal, A1, “Senate Plan Sets High Bar On Border Security,” By Sara Murray: “Immigrants in the U.S. illegally would not gain green cards under a bipartisan Senate bill until law-enforcement officials are monitoring the entire southern border and stopping 90% of people crossing illegally in certain areas, according to people familiar with the plan. The border-security proposal, part of a broader immigration bill being written by eight senators, sets several goals that would have to be met before any of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally could apply for permanent legal residency, also known as a green card, according to the people familiar with the Senate talks. Meeting all the goals is expected to take 10 years.

– “In a major change for businesses, all employers would be required after a five-year phase-in period to use the government’s E-Verify system, which screens for illegal workers. E-Verify now is largely voluntary, though some states require it. Some 409,000 employers had enrolled in the program as of last year, the federal government says, a tiny fraction of the estimated six million private U.S. employers, many of which have only a handful of employees.” http://on.wsj.com/ZMDhDz

– A House immigration bill is hung up on a disagreement over low-skilled workers, Jake Sherman and Kate Nocera report for POLITICO: http://politi.co/17pUsCE

IMMIGRATION POLITICS IS LOCAL – Manu Raju and Anna Palmer report for POLITICO: “Sen. Barbara Mikulski wants to help the Polish. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants to help the Irish. Sen. Marco Rubio wants to woo foreign workers to help after national emergencies. And Sen. Mazie Hirono wants to reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their families. As negotiations over a sweeping immigration deal comes to a head, senators are rapidly moving to resolve a bevy of narrow and parochial issues raised by lawmakers nervous about the impact of the far-reaching plan.

– “On Tuesday, one issue affecting rural America appeared closer to resolution: A new visa program for foreign workers on farms. A deal between labor and farm industry officials over wages for workers and caps on annual visas for migrant workers could come as soon as Wednesday, helping attract a range of rural-state lawmakers eager to appease farm interests back home. And Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he was close to resolving a lingering dispute with Rubio, the Florida Republican, over the number of H1-B visas to provide high-skill foreign workers.” http://politi.co/152xVwj

** On the Hill? Then join the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure ‘State of Pink’ Challenge, a little friendly competition to support the fight against breast cancer. Just form a team in your office and then come celebrate with us on Saturday, May 11. Winning teams will be recognized on Race Day. Learn more. http://globalrace.info-komen.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hq_gr_2012_about_hill_teams   

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 10, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include @cshogan276 and @MatosJay.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. resume consideration of a cloture motion on gun control legislation known as the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013. Unless the Senate comes to an agreement, the Senate will hold a cloture vote on the motion to proceed on Thursday.

The House is in at 10 a.m. with first votes expected between 1:30 and 2 p.m. and last votes expected between 5 and 6 p.m. on the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act.

AROUND THE HILL – President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget is delivered to Congress at 8 a.m. in Cannon 210 and at 8:15 a.m. in Dirksen 604. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks on guns at 9:30 a.m. in S-325. Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference media availability at 10 a.m. in HC-8. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad briefing at 10:30 a.m. in H-144.

Reps. Chris Smith and Frank Wolf speak on Vietnamese victims on religious persecution in Vietnam at 10:30 a.m. at the House Triangle. Sens. Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin will speak on firearms background checks at 11 a.m. in S-325.

A news conference where Sens. Jerry Moran, Dick Blumenthal, Jim Inhofe, Amy Klobuchar, Kelly Ayotte and David Vitter planned to reintroduce legislation to stop air traffic control tower closings has been postponed due to a scheduling conflict.

Reps. Marcia Fudge and Chaka Fattah, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others speak on the State of Black America at 11:30 a.m. at the House Triangle. Rep. Joe Crowley speaks on comprehensive immigration reform at 12:30 p.m. at the House Triangle. Steny Hoyer and House Democrats speak on Make It In America legislation at 1 p.m. in HVC Studio A. Rep. Frank Wolf speaks on Benghazi at 1:30 p.m. at the House Triangle.

The Small Business Committees hold a small business summit from 1 to 5:30 p.m. in Russell 428A. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions hold a conference call tomorrow in response to President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal, at 2 p.m. Call in: (888) 469-1370. Passcode: 224143. House Triangle. Rep. Bob Goodlatte speaks on RFS legislation at 2:30 p.m. at the House Triangle. Chairwoman Patty Murray’s Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing on President Obama’s budget at 3 p.m. in Dirksen 608. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger hold post-CISPA mark-up availability at 4 p.m. at the HVC Intel stakeout site.

‘OBAMA PHONES’ DRAW SCRUTINY ON CAPITOL HILL – Karen Tumulty writes on A1 of thwe Washington Post: “Obama phone” is the widely used — and misleading — nickname of a 28-year-old federal program known as Lifeline. It provides discounts, averaging $ 9.25 a month, on phone service for 13.3 million low-income subscribers. In the 31 / 2 years after false rumors started that the Obama administration was giving free cellphones to poor people — and six months after a racially charged video about it went viral — a once-obscure phone service subsidy is getting renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill. There are growing calls in Congress to end or drastically cut back Lifeline; later this month, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing that could help determine its fate.  … Lifeline was begun not by President Obama but under Ronald Reagan. It expanded to include cellphone service during the presidency of another Republican, George W. Bush.” http://wapo.st/ZMCXoD

KELLY EASILY WINS JACKSON JR.S OLD HOUSE SEAT – Rick Pearson and Bill Ruthhart write on A1 of the Chicago Tribune: “Following Tuesday’s special election victory, Democrat Robin Kelly will start a new job in Congress as the least senior member of a House dominated by Republicans. That political reality is not lost on Kelly, who said her first task is to restore district offices and concentrate on constituent services as she replaces disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in the South Side and south suburban 2nd Congressional District. … Kelly, who launched her campaign on a strong gun-control theme, was joined at her victory party by Nathaniel Pendleton and Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old band majorette killed by gunfire on the South Side little more than a week after performing in Washington during President Barack Obama’s inauguration weekend festivities. ‘Watch us take on the NRA, the tea party and anyone else standing in the way of safety,’ Kelly said. With 80 percent of precincts counted in the low-turnout contest, Kelly had 74 percent of the vote to about 19 percent for Republican Paul McKinley, an unemployed political activist and ex-convict.” http://trib.in/10TPk5P

OBAMA’S NOMINEES COAST THROUGH SENATE HEARINGS – Matthew L. Wald and Robert Pear write for the New York Times: “President Obama’s three nominees to run Medicare and Medicaid, the Energy Department and the Office of Management and Budget sailed through their separate Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday and appeared to be on track to win approval from the committees, though none of the panels voted on the nominations. Marilyn B. Tavenner, who has been chosen to run the government’s big health care programs, won endorsement from the House Republican leader, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, who said he had worked with her in his days as a state lawmaker. …

– “Similarly, Mr. Obama’s nominee for energy secretary, Ernest J. Moniz, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was under secretary of energy in the Clinton administration, faced no opposition Tuesday in a three-hour hearing held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who has been nominated as director of the budget office, also appeared to have no serious opposition in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.” http://nyti.ms/12J1xug

TUESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Adam Heider was first to correctly answer that Ted Yoho (Florida), David Price (UNC) and Joe Courtney (UConn) are the current House members who represent the districts that include the three universities that are tied for the most number of Division I NCAA basketball championships in the last 10 years. Each won two titles in the past decade.

CORRECTION: Monday’s trivia answer should have said Tom McMillen was elected to Congress in 1986, the same year he retired from the NBA.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Claude Marx has today’s question: Which president signed legislation creating the Labor Department? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

** On the Hill? Then join the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure ‘State of Pink’ Challenge, a little friendly competition to support the fight against breast cancer. Since 1990, Komen’s investments have helped drive down breast cancer mortality rates in the U.S. by 33% thanks to participants like you. Represent your state and keep the momentum going. Form a team in your office today and then come celebrate with us on Saturday, May 11. The largest congressional team and top fundraising team will be recognized on Race Day. Learn more. http://globalrace.info-komen.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hq_gr_2012_about_hill_teams

POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle

BUDGET DAY, Weiner eyes comeback, McConnell: Our campaign was "bugged," Manchin-Toomey gun deal close, Immigration bill Thurs?, Kelly wins House seat, trivia