The Death of the Republican Party, Schwarzenegger’s Sex Picture, and More

Solid State:

As expected, the U.S. Senate confirmed Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as the new secretary of state Tuesday. President Obama’s nominee was met with virtually no resistance in the legislative body, soaring through confirmation with a vote of 94-3. The nay votes? Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Cornyn of Texas. (Read more)

Get Going: President Obama outlined an immigration reform plan Tuesday that is remarkably similar to the one that a bipartisan group of senators agreed upon the previous day, but with one caveat — it does not tie citizenship with border security. Like the Senate group’s immigration reform package, the president’s proposal would provide a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. However, it doesn’t make tougher border control a precondition to citizenship, like Republicans want. The president urged Congress to act on the senators’ plan, saying he would send them his own if they failed to act quickly. “If Congress is unable to act in a timely fashion, I will send up a bill based on my proposal and insist that they vote on it right away,” Obama said in his speech. (Read more)

Texans Are Through: Bad news for Rick Perry—Texas voters from both parties are tired of the three-term GOP governor and are ready for a change. Just 31 percent think he should run for another term, while 62 percent say they’ve had enough of him, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey. The poll also finds that Perry is one of the most unpopular governors in the country, with only 41 percent of voters approving of the job he’s doing. (Read more)

Fighting for Females: The vast majority of Americans—66 percent—support women in combat, a new Pew Survey finds. Just 26 percent are against having them at the front lines. Most believe the policy shift will give women more opportunities in the military. The survey comes a week after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women in combat. (Read more)

Hidden Treasures: For some reason, there was a “sex picture” of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (among other things) in a storage locker that once belonged to Penthouse founder and publisher Bob Guccione. According to the New York Post, a young Schwarzenegger can be seen in the photo engaging “in what appears to be a sex act.” Also found in the late Guccione’s locker: unpublished nude photos of Madonna and Lauren Hutton, and correspondence with former Vice President Dick Cheney. The unclaimed storage locker was recently bought by a wealthy hedge fund manager. (Read more)

Video of the Day: In case you missed it: The Republican Party is dead. Who says, you ask? Why, “Doctor” Glenn Beck of course! He celebrated the establishment’s “death” on his Blaze TV show Monday night with an elaborately themed cake, confetti and footage of an actual elephant dying—all while dressed as a medical professional.