by Justin Lin, policy intern

NEWS:

• According to a recent Quinnipac poll, Chris Christie was viewed the most favorably in the country, topping out at 53.1 “degrees.” He beat out Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and President Barack Obama, but amongst Republicans Christie was only at eighth place. (Politico)
• It is often hard to say who exactly is involved with immigration reform in the House, and there may be more than 10 representatives working on the bill right now, an extraordinarily high number. House Speaker John Boehner has been criticized for a hands off approach, but Boehner’s aides have responded by pointing out that he is delegating the process out to trusted colleagues in the House. (National Journal)
• The August recess has arrived, which makes the time ripe for lobbyists to arrive in the home districts of certain congressmen and congresswomen. Congress faces many battles in the coming September, with the debt limit hike and immigration reform, among other issues. In addition to lobbying groups, different liberal organizations plan to show up at certain districts and make a lot of noise. (Washington Post)
• Many GOP governors have been urging against trying to force a government shutdown, arguing that doing so would hurt the economies in their respective states and would leave the party to shoulder much of the blame. The governors also discussed the Affordable Care Act and many GOP governors pointed out the legislative difficulty of repealing the law. (New York Times)
• Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist from California, is heavily supporting Terry McAuliffe for governor of Virginia. Steyer has decided to personally advocate for McAuliffe because he considers Cuccinelli’s views on environmental issues objectionable, but Cuccinelli has already fired back, with a spokesman saying that Steyer is another advocate of the “war on coal.” (Politico)