Weiner’s Campaign Sinks, Limbaugh and Hannity Reportedly Dropped, and More

Comey Confirmed:

Sen. Rand Paul released his hold on President Obama’s nomination of James Comey to head the FBI, paving the way for his confirmation Monday. The Kentucky Republican had placed the hold on Comey’s nomination to protest the FBI’s use of drones on U.S. soil, but decided to release it after receiving a response—even though it was one he disagreed with–from the agency. The vote was 93-1, with Paul casting the lone dissent. However, two senators voted present, while four others did not vote at all. Comey, a former Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, will replace outgoing FBI Director Robert Mueller. (Read more)

He’s No. 4: Anthony Weiner is probably rethinking his decision to run for New York City mayor right about now. After his latest sexting scandal was uncovered last week, Weiner has dropped down to fourth place in the mayor’s race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll that was released Monday. That’s quite a change from the survey five days ago that showed Weiner in the lead. What’s more, a majority of likely Democratic primary voters say they want the former congressman–who resigned two summers ago after his last go-around of sending illicit messages to women he’d met online–to drop out of the race. The new leader in the Democratic primary, according to the poll, is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. (Read more)

Deny, Deny, Deny: It seems Mitt Romney is trying to rewrite history. In an interview with reporter Dan Balz, the failed Republican presidential contender was forced to confront the infamous “47 percent” remark that helped sink his campaign. And how did he do it? By essentially denying what he said, which is especially difficult when that thing you said was recorded on video and widely distributed on the Internet. First, Romney blamed his initial response to the “47 percent” comment on having only been told—not actually seeing—what was on the video. Then, he claimed the comment was taken out of context. Explained Romney: “The president said he’s writing off 47 percent of Americans and so forth. And that wasn’t at all what was intended. That wasn’t what was meant by it. That is the way it was perceived.” But Mother Jones’ David Corn, who broke the story about the secret recorded tape, wasn’t about to let those explanations slide. Corn wrote: “The fellow who wanted to lead the United States cannot look at reality squarely and own what he said. Months after being rejected by American voters—winning the support of, uh, only 47 percent—Romney still cannot take responsibility himself.” (Read more)

Radio Shake-Up: Rather than renew their contracts, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity — two of conservative talk radio’s highest rated personalities–will be dropped by Cumulus Media from its stations at the end of the year, Politico’s Dylan Byers reports. Citing an industry source, Byers wrote that the decision was made after contract talks between Cumulus and Clear Channel, which distributes both of the influential conservative pundits’ programs through its Premiere Networks division, broke down over the cost of distribution rights. Although the two companies have had difficult negotiations before, Byers’ source says it’s unlikely they will be able to strike a deal this time around. (Read more)

Video of the Day: Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor who resigned from office amid a prostitution scandal five years ago, made his first major remarks regarding New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner’s inappropriate online behavior with women during an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. When asked by Matthews whether he would fire government officials who “used their office equipment to engage in the kind of pastime that Anthony Wiener’s been involved in,” the current New York City comptroller candidate responded, “I think the answer is yes.” Spitzer later added that he would not be voting for Weiner. As Mediate noted: “The irony around Spitzer’s criticism of Weiner could not have been lost on most people tuning in on MSNBC.”