Ex-Senator Reveals Secret Love Child, Gingrich Slams Rove, and More

Kid You Not:

Former New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, who retired in 2008, revealed a big secret Tuesday when he said that he had fathered an out-of-wedlock child three decades ago. The Republican identified his son as Adam Paul Laxalt, an attorney in Nevada, and the mother as Michelle Laxalt. Michelle, who was 24 at the time she gave birth to Adam (Domenici was 46), is the daughter of Paul Laxalt, who served in the Senate alongside Domenici. “More than 30 years ago, I fathered a child outside of my marriage,” Domenici said in a statement, saying he came forward now because the story was about to go public. “I have apologized as best as I can to my wife, and we have worked together to strengthen our relationship,” Domenici added. (Read more)

Gun Lobby Sets Its Sights: The National Rifle Association is already gearing up for the 2014 elections with a print advertising campaign that will target mostly Democratic senators who are up for re-election. The full-page ads are set to begin running Thursday in local papers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and West Virginia. Additionally, the NRA plans to launch a digital campaign ad in those states, plus 10 others. It’s estimated the effort will cost the pro-gun lobby roughly $375,000. (Read more)

Taking Away the People’s Say: A group of Georgia state representatives have introduced a resolution in their House of Representatives asking the Congress to repeal the 17th Amendment, which calls for U.S. senators to be elected by popular vote, and return the election of senators back to state lawmakers. In offering the proposal, the group claimed that it’s what the Founding Fathers had intended. “It’s a way we would again have our voice heard in the federal government, a way that doesn’t exist now,” said state Rep. Kevin Cooke, one of the resolution’s co-sponsors. “This isn’t an idea of mine. This is what James Madison was writing. This would be a restoration of the Constitution, about how government is supposed to work.” Not surprisingly, the resolution is not expected to prompt the change. (Read more)

Reversing Course: In an unexpected twist, Rick Scott—who spent millions of his own money trying to sink Obamacare before he became Florida’s governor—has accepted a key provision of the president’s health care reform plan. Scott, a Republican, completed a huge personal turnaround Wednesday when he announced that he would accept Obama’s plan to increase access to Medicaid in his state. The expansion allows anyone who makes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level to enroll in the Medicaid program. “I want every Floridian to have access to high-quality health care they can afford,” he said. “While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost of new people in Medicaid, I cannot, in good conscience, deny the uninsured access to care.” (Read more)

Righting Wrongs: Newt Gingrich is the latest conservative to come out and slam Karl Rove over his new super PAC that seeks to financially support and back “electable” GOP political candidates. The former Republican presidential candidate bashed Rove in an op-ed he penned for the conservative website Human Events. Comparing Rove’s recent actions to that of political machines like Tammany Hall, Gingrich writes, “No one person is smart enough nor do they have the moral right to buy nominations across the country.” He continued: “There is a second practical thing wrong with Rove’s proposal. He was simply wrong last year. He was wrong about the Presidential race (watch a video of his blow up on Fox election night about Fox News calling Ohio for President Obama). He was also wrong about Senate races.” (Read more)

Video of the Day: Scooby-Doo and the gang stopped by “Fox & Friends” this morning, making it official—the “F&F” hosts, clearly realizing where their true talents lie, have stopped trying to be a “serious” news program. Sigh of relief.