Barack Obama campaign announces $68 million raised with DNC (The Ticket)

Jim Messina, campaign manager for President Barack Obama's re-election effort, announced in an online video early Thursday morning that the campaign has raised some $68 million in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee over the past three-month cycle of fundraising. But while Messina touted the Obama operation's big-money gains, he also put in an appeal for additional financial support from Obama backers.

"Too many Obama supporters think we don't need their money, or [that] they don't need to give it now," Messina said. You can watch the video below:

Messina highlighted the large number of first-time donors--200,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011-- and noted that the support from Americans who've never before contributed to the campaign signals enthusiasm on the Democratic side.

Overall, the fourth-quarter total was still less than the Obama Victory Fund and the Democratic National Committee reported raising together in the third quarter ($70 million) or in the second quarter ($86 million).

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The Mitt Romney restoration: A vision of a past we can believe in (The Ticket)

Romney appearing Tuesday night in Davenport, IA. Jeff Haynes (Reuters)

DAVENPORT, Iowa--I'm told the reason it remains illegal to raise chickens in Iowa City, where I live, is because Iowans moved to our relatively cosmopolitan college town to get away from the country people and, by extension, their chickens. Twentysomethings from bigger cities, where it is fashionable to raise your own chicks and harvest fresh eggs and place them decorously on gingham dish towels, come to Iowa thinking they will live the country life for a little while, only to find their neighbors shutting them down. I mention this by way of explaining my first impression of the 400 people who came to see Mitt Romney in a hotel in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday night: These are the people who would call the police on your illegal chickens.

The women have accessorized. They're wearing foundation, bronzer, silk scarves, pearls. There are men in ties, men in Banana Republic sweaters, over-scrubbed little blond boys in blue fleece. It is a crowd in which it is possible to linger on a face that seems remotely recognizable and wonder if you're staring at a news anchor whose name you used to know.

"I am not an evangelical Christian, and you're not an evangelical Christian," one Romney supporter tells another, by way of explaining the endorsement of Rick Santorum by Bob Vander Plaats, Iowa's most politically charged evangelical Christian. We are seated under chandeliers and gilded molding in the nicest room, the "historic Gold Room," of the Hotel Blackhawk, a progressive-era hotel that calls itself Davenport's most luxurious. The evangelical Christians, who chose Huckabee over Romney four years ago, do not tend to meet under chandeliers. Their bases of operation have been, that election cycle and this one, many dozens of common rooms in many dozen franchises of a chain restaurant called Pizza Ranch. Michelle Bachmann, another evangelical favorite, stopped at three of those on Wednesday.

The room is packed to capacity 45 minutes before Romney arrives. Among the hundreds of politely seated voters, one man is vigorously waving a large red foam "Mitt Romney '08" novelty baseball mitt.

"Oh, the mitts," a woman says. "We've got two in the closet. Didn't even think to bring 'em."

"It says '08 but so what," says the mitt-waver.

"Well, my shirt says '07!"

"I've got a 4-by-8 Romney sign up in my yard left over from '08."

"So put it up."

"It is up!"

"Remind me to go through that closet," the woman says to her husband. "I don't even know what else is up there—a fan?"

Romney supporters are packed along the aisles and spilling into the hallway, while hotel staff pass chairs over their heads. "They misunderestimated the number of chairs," someone says, and then, to friends in the aisle, "You should have come earlier, you would have gotten a seat!" Romney is late, which a woman notes George W. Bush would not have been; the former president was, apparently, always 15 minutes early. There are many such comments from serial meet-and-greeters, dropped knowledge about how such events usually proceed.

"I don't know why they don't open this room up," someone says, as the aisles grow so packed they begin to press against the seated guests, "that wall opens."

The mitt-waver begins to chant "We want Mitt," which does not catch on but provokes some indulgent giggles.

When Mitt finally arrives, he gives a polished speech about the difference between "opportunity America" and "entitlement America." He talks about reading from a prepared text, but barely glances at the pages in front of him while delivering perfect paragraphs of talking-point-studded prose: Free enterprise. Constitution. Low taxes. Social issues never come up, which is perhaps why Mitt never looks uncomfortable, never struggles to find a natural cadence, never emphasizes the wrong word in a practiced string of them. The biggest applause goes to his promise to "restore" the country rather than "transform" it. And though, in retrospect, it seems that the former would necessarily imply the latter, the enthusiasm with which this sentiment is received is interesting. This is a promise to avoid change. Romney is here to battle the forces of transformation, which implies not only Barack Obama but also his less dependably boring Republican opponents, who are louder, and better at chanting.

Ron Paul supporters, their average age about half that of the people in this room, are standing outside the hotel in a cold breeze coming off the Mississippi. They'd been shouting Ron Paul's name for a while when the Romney bus showed up, and which point they shouted even louder.

In the historic Gold Room, the talk of Paul is not flattering. "He wants to legalize prostitution!" I hear a scandalized adolescent girl tell her friends.

"He shot himself in the foot with those newsletters, there's no way now," says an older woman, who then loudly bemoans the lack of diversity in the room.

Iowa's unemployment rate is 6 percent. Corn prices are so high that families are selling their farms for prices that would have been unthinkable five years ago. And Davenport, a city that endures in the popular imagination as the gritty shuttered river town it may have been in the '80s, has, with its riverside skywalk and art museum and riverboat casino blasting "Monster Mash" a hundred yards down the Mississippi, lost whatever depressed industrial chic it once had. There is no apocalypse here. The candidate the state wants may not be the one into moon-mining, or the one a little too obsessed with the fact that Iowa has legalized gay marriage, or the one who wants to eliminate five federal departments.

All down the hallway that looks over the hotel lobby, the voters who couldn't stuff into the room are hoping for a glimpse of Romney. There are murmurs that he has arrived, and then all at once everyone is up and applauding. From the middle of the room, Romney is impossible to see. It's all backs, polite applause, and gilded molding. In the '80s, when maintenance of the hotel seemed pointlessly expensive, one of a long succession of owners hid the arches and skylights under a drop-down ceiling. But the ballroom is restored to its 1915 condition now, a symbol, according to the hotel, "of prosperity of the quad cities." The point is no longer to improve it, or reimagine it, but to keep the place from falling back into decay.

Kerry Howley is a visiting writer at the University of Iowa. This story is part a series of primary-state dispatches from people who live outside the campaign bubble.

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Mitt Romney on DNC ‘flip’ ad: ‘Bring it on.’ (The Ticket)

HIALEAH, Fla.--Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney summed up his response to a new Democratic Party video accusing him of flip-flopping in three words: "Bring it on."

"They want to throw the primary process to anybody but me. But bring it on," Romney said after a speech at a Latin food company warehouse west of Miami. "We're ready for them."

The ad, released by the Democratic National Committee Monday, shows clips of Romney giving conflicting answers to several policy questions over the years, playing into the theme that he's an inconsistent candidate.

"I don't know what the Democrats are so afraid of," Romney added.

Romney made the comments on his first stop on a day-long swing across Florida today, with speeches in Hialeah, Naples and Tampa.

Along the way, Romney secured the endorsement of key members of the South Florida Cuban community, Florida Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, all major critics of President Obama's efforts to open economic channels with the island nation. Romney announced Tuesday that the trio would serve as foreign policy advisers to his campaign.

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House passes measure to avoid government shutdown, but Senate won’t (The Ticket)

Reid (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The House of Representatives early Friday morning passed a continuing resolution to fund the government and avoid a looming shutdown after the first attempt to pass a resolution failed. But Senate Democrats are strongly opposed to the new measure.

"The bill the House will vote on tonight is not an honest effort at compromise. It fails to provide the relief that our fellow Americans need as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the wake of floods, wildfires and hurricanes, and it will be rejected by the Senate," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement prior to the vote, which resulted in passage 219-203.

Democrats argue the new resolution includes inadequate disaster funds for FEMA, and they oppose spending cuts to programs they say are necessary to stimulate the economy.

"Wake up! Wake up! You can't kill these programs. This is the solution you are killing," Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said on the House floor, referring to cuts to environmental programs he argues are going to help Americans against natural disasters.

But Republicans who support the measure say that the proposed spending cuts are key to rescuing the economy.

"I'm not one of those people who believe that we have to offset every emergency," Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said on the House floor. " . . . . But in the past, we have not had a 14 trillion dollar deficit!" he shouted. "That's the danger to this country--is the 14 trillion dollar deficit and the 1.6 trillion we add to it every damn year!"

The first continuing resolution that came before the House earlier this week failed when Democrats joined 48 Republican conservative fiscal hawks in the House to defeat it. So House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appealed to conservatives and made deeper cuts in the current resolution, which drew opposition from just 24 House Republicans. Six Democrats also supported the current bill.

Both parties face a time crunch. The government is currently funded through the fiscal year, which concludes Sept. 30. Democrats say FEMA may require additional funds as early as Sept. 26. And Congress is scheduled to be in recess following today's session in observance of next week's Rosh Hashana holiday.

Reid said Friday he would put the measure up for a vote this morning but that it is dead on arrival.

Update 12:47 p.m. EST: The Senate voted to table the resolution 59-36. Reid has scheduled a vote for Monday evening.

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Michigan Democrats switch congressional districts to circumvent redistricting woes (The Ticket)

Conyers (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

A Republican-led congressional redistricting plan in Michigan has complicated the re-election plans of John Conyers and Hansen Clarke, two Democratic representatives from the state. But the lawmakers have found a novel way to avoid that challenge: they're switching their Detroit-area districts.

"Rep. Hansen Clarke looks forward to running for reelection in the new 14th congressional district of Michigan!," freshman Clarke tweeted Sunday.

The 14th district is currently represented by Conyers, a longtime member of the House. Clarke represents the neighboring 13th District. But their newly-drawn districts are much different, meaning they would have to introduce themselves to a host of new constituents and possibly face primary challenges from Democrats.

The switch benefits both men, but more significantly Conyers, whose base is located in the new 13th and who would have faced a primary against Clarke or outside challenges in the 14th.

Conyers, who has been serving since 1965, made no public statement regarding the switch, though sources tell Politico he supports the maneuver.

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Pelosi flexes muscle as House Democrats prepare for final debt ceiling negotiations (The Ticket)

(Alex Brandon/AP)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has so far played a minor, background role in the negotiations between President Obama and congressional Republicans over raising the debt ceiling. But she sought to change all that Friday, in a private meeting with Obama to drive home her earlier pledge to oppose any deal that cuts the nation's entitlement programs.

Pelosi emerged from a meeting with House Democrats Friday to announce that they remain "firm" in their commitment to keep Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare free from cuts.

One day earlier, Pelosi made clear that many House Democrats fervidly oppose the White House's bid to place cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the table during the debt-ceiling talks. Republican leaders, meanwhile, say they won't proceed with negotiations unless such cuts are included, together with provisions to restrain the future growth of government spending.

"We do not support cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare," Pelosi said. "Any discussion of Medicare or Social Security should be on its own table. I have said that before. You want to take a look at Social Security? Then look at it on its own table. But do not consider Social Security a piggy bank for giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country."

It isn't surprising to see the former Speaker flex a little muscle. Through all the big deals negotiated between Republicans and the White House--even the one that extended Bush-era tax rates, which happened while House Democrats still held the  majority and Pelosi was Speaker of the House--she often found herself sitting on the bench, waiting to be called into the game. Now the country is faced with a dilemma that will need her to help fix it--and she's understandably squeezing every bit of leverage she can out of the situation.

The details of the deal are still pending, but both parties are examining ways to reduce federal spending by $4 trillion over the next  10 years. Obama earlier this week said he would consider including the entitlement programs in those cuts, an admission that has received little support from his party.

Members of the House Progressive Caucus have remained the most vocal about their opposition to the deal. Caucus leaders sent a letter to Obama Thursday urging him to strip entitlements from the negotiations, or risk losing Democratic support.

"Not only am I not going to vote for it, I am going to whip my caucus as hard as I can to persuade them not to support it," House Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison told the Minnesota Post.

Rank-and-file members are also primed to go to battle over entitlements.

"You want a fight?" said Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) recently during a press conference. "If anybody in this building wants to take on Social Security—privatize it, change the benefits by altering the Consumer Price Index or by any other method—know this: You've got a fight on your hands."

Still, at least some Democratic lawmakers actually do support at least one of the measures Garemendi cited: reducing benefits by indexing them to the Consumer Price Index. As  Talking Points Memo reporter Brian Beutler points out, congressional Democrats have indicated some backing for an approach to altering Social Security in a way that would reduce benefits without the measure necessarily qualifying as a "cut." By pegging the Cost of Living Adjustments to a lower inflation estimate, Congress could, technically, reduce spending for the program and avoid at least some of the political fallout that would come with deeper outright cuts to the program.

Of course, since the exact details of the deal remain behind closed doors, much of the talk at this point is mere posturing. The true moment of reckoning will come for both sides as more concrete details surface over the next few days.

It's still unclear whether House Speaker John Boehner will even be able to secure votes from a wide majority of Republicans. So for this thing to pass, it will need every Democratic vote it can get. And Pelosi knows it.

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Dems fundraise off Boehner’s emotions (The Ticket)

Dem group offering free shirt in return for donation

House Speaker John Boehner is famous for letting his emotions get the best of him, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee won't let him hear the end of it. The group, tasked with  electing Democrats to the House, launched a fund raising initiative this week aimed at making fun of Boehner for his history of teary outbursts.

"We all know it doesn't take much to make Speaker Boehner get teary-eyed. But let's give him something to really cry about," the email from DCCC Executive Director Robby Mook reads. "Make John Boehner Cry ... If we want to show we're serious about taking the Speaker's gavel away from John Boehner, we can't wait until 2012."

The group says that House Democrats will triple any donation over $3 made before Friday, when the Federal Election Commission rules require all campaign groups to submit their quarterly earnings. Plus, those who donate $20 or more will get their very own "Weeper of the House" T-shirt, complete with a picture of Boehner with tear-stained cheeks.

The push is an effort to out-raise Republicans before the income numbers are made available. In May, the National Republican Congressional Committee beat them by about $800,000.

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Could Obama ignore Congress if they refuse to raise the debt ceiling? Yes, and he should, some experts say (The Ticket)

Obama brushed off question about whether the debt limit is constitutional at Wednesday press conference (Carolyn …

As both major parties debate their conditions for raising the nation's debt ceiling, some Senate Democrats and constitutional scholars are questioning whether the limit is constitutional in the first place.

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told The Huffington Post this week that he's part of a group of lawmakers now examining whether, in the case that debt negotiations fail, the Treasury could ignore Congress and continue paying its bills on time.

"This is an issue that's been raised in some private debate between senators as to whether in fact we can default, or whether that provision of the Constitution can be held up as preventing default," Coons told Huffington Post reporters Ryan Grim and Samuel Haass. "[I]t's going to get a pretty strong second look as a way of saying, 'Is there some way to save us from ourselves?' "

Critics of the debt limit cite the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states: "the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned." (Emphasis ours)

Of course, the Fourteenth Amendment is open to wide, and varying, interpretation and debate. The most basic question here is, does a limit on debt "question" the "validity" of the debt?

Legal scholar Garrett Epps, writing in The Atlantic in April, said that a case could easily made for simply ignoring the congressionally mandated debt limit.

"This provision makes clear that both the monies our nation owes to bondholders, and the sums promised in legislation to those receiving pensions set by law from the federal government, must be paid regardless of the political whims of the current congressional majority," Epps wrote.

In essence, Epps argues that Obama should stand before Congress and say, Tough luck--the Constitution says we can't default. Epps argued that in the event that Congress does not act, Obama should (and could) instruct the Treasury Department to issue "binding debt instruments on the world market sufficient to cover all the current obligations of the United States government, even in default of Congressional action to meet those obligations."

President Obama's own views on the subject, however, are unclear. During his press conference Wednesday, Obama dodged a question about the debt limit's constitutionality, telling NBC's Chuck Todd: "I'm not a Supreme Court justice, so I'm not going to put my constitutional law professor hat on."

Obama understandably didn't want to show his cards by hashing out a plan for how he would act in the event Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling. But some observers have already outlined how he could--and still get away with it.

Writing in the Financial Times in April, Former Reagan adviser and Treasury official Bruce Bartlett said the Obama administration could justify ignoring Congress to ensure the nation pays its debts.

"The president would be justified in taking extreme actions to protect against a debt default. In the event that congressional irresponsibility makes default impossible to avoid, he should order the secretary of the Treasury to simply disregard the debt limit and sell whatever securities are necessary to raise cash to pay the nation's debts. They are protected by the full faith and credit of the United States and preventing default is no less justified than using American military power to protect against an armed invasion without a congressional declaration of war," Bartlett wrote. "Under those circumstances, when default is the only possible alternative, I believe that the president and the Treasury secretary would be justified in taking extraordinary action to prevent it, even if it means violating the debt limit."

However, if Obama were to follow that route, it's still unclear how the courts would rule.

Grim and Saass point to the 1935 Perry v. U.S Supreme Court ruling, which determined that the language in the Fourteenth Amendment does apply to the national debt. What's more, they observe, according to the majority opinion on the case, no act of Congress can undermine promises of debt payment from the federal government.

"To say that the Congress may withdraw or ignore that pledge is to assume that the Constitution contemplates a vain promise; a pledge having no other sanction than the pleasure and convenience of the pledgor," wrote Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who presided over the case.

Even with that precedent, however, the specific debt limit as we know it today has not yet seen its day in court. Should the White House's negotiations with Congress on the debt ceiling fail, it will be up to Obama to decide whether he wants to start that fight, which would no doubt require years-long court battles to settle.

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Anthony Weiner says he will take leave of absence, seek ‘treatment’ as scandal grows (The Ticket)

Just hours after three leading Democrats called on him to resign, Rep. Anthony Weiner announced he will take a leave of absence from Congress and enter a treatment program.

Saturday began with a major blow to Weiner's chances for survival, as  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, all issued statements urging Weiner to leave Congress.

Shortly after, Weiner's office announced that the embattled New York Democrat had decided to enter a treatment program, saying he "needs this time to get healthy and make the best possible decision" about his future.

"Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person," Weiner's office announced. "In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well."

It's unclear what type of treatment Weiner is seeking, but Democrats hinted it's not enough to overcome the scandal and urged him to resign.

"It is with great disappointment that I call on Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign," Wasserman Schultz's statement read. "The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and [his] continued service in Congress is untenable.  This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Rep. Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House--and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important--his and his family's well-being."

The developments came a day after it was revealed Delaware police questioned a 17-year-old girl about her Twitter exchanges with the embattled lawmaker. Weiner insisted late Friday his dealings with the girl were "neither explicit nor indecent"—a statement the girl's family backed up in an interview with the New York Times. But apparently the report was the final straw for Weiner's Democratic colleagues, who say they can no longer defend the disgraced congressman.

Pelosi, who initiated an House ethics investigation into Weiner's activities earlier this week, had refused as late as yesterday to call for her colleague's resignation. But she, too, reversed course Saturday.

"Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help," Pelosi said. "I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a Member of Congress."

Israel, a fellow New York Democrat, also called his for colleague to resign, saying Weiner's "inappropriate behavior has become an insurmountable distraction to the House and our work for the American people."

The decision of all three Democratic leaders to go public with their resignation calls simultaneously is a strong hint that back-channel efforts among party officials to convince Weiner to leave Congress on his own have failed.

Weiner has repeatedly insisted he won't leave Congress, citing the support of his constituents and his wife, Huma Abedin. On Monday, the New York Democrat admitted he'd lied about risqué online relationships with six women he had met on Facebook and Twitter.

(Photo of Weiner: David Karp/AP)

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Democrats call for condemnation of offensive CA36 web ad featuring stripper and ‘gangbangers’ (The Ticket)

Democrats are expressing outrage over a web ad launched yesterday targeting Democrat Janice Hahn in California's upcoming 36th District special election.

The web commercial, which claims to be paid for by a new group called "Turn Right USA", accuses Hahn of giving gang members money so they can "rape and kill again." The ad features a faceless blonde, white woman (Hahn is blonde and white) grinding on a stripper poll and getting bills stuffed into her shorts, as two black men portraying gangsters sing: "Give me your cash, b*tch, so we can shoot up the street. Give me your cash, b*tch, so we can buy some more heat."

Hahn, a Los Angeles City Councilwoman, employed reformed gang members to participate in Los Angeles gang intervention programs.

The creator of the ad has identified himself as filmmaker and recent attack ad creator Ladd Ehlinger, who writes on his personal website that the ad simply makes him laugh:

The ad's funny. It makes me laugh. So if, for some reason, it's pulled by [sic] youTube, a thousand will be launched in its place all over Algorez' Internetz. Because you're only drawing more attention to your past of supporting criminals, Janice, and forcing policemen out of their jobs for doing their duty. So there you go. Claim victimhood all you like, but how many people were victimized by your coddling? There's a reason Mayor Villaraigosa took the program away from you. He's a Democrat. So are you. Think about it.

Ehlinger has been trying to establish himself as the viral political ad man. He gained some notoriety in 2010 for a Dale Peterson for Alabama Agricultural Commissioner ad that showed Peterson  calling people "dummies" and for another 2010 ad portraying then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the wicked witch for another candidate.

Since Turn Right USA is an independent group, it appears the Republican running in California's 36th District race-- advertising executive Craig Huey--has no direct connection to the commercial. But regardless, Democrats are calling on Huey to address the offensive spot.

"Craig Huey must condemn this offensive and sexist ad, and demand that the ad makers immediately take it down," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Crider said in a statement Tuesday night. "This ad does not reflect the values of California's hardworking women and men.  Craig Huey's silence should send a chilling message to our mothers, sisters, and daughters that this kind of outrageous and sexist material is tolerated."

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Eric C. Bauman called on Huey to "repudiate this ad and its content" and accused perennial candidate G. Rick Marshall of being behind the PAC.

"An online ad, released by Turn Right USA, depicts women as strippers, uses African American actors to depict gangbangers, and features lyrics such as 'Give us your cash b*tch, so we can shoot up the street!," Bauman said. "This exploitation of women and African Americans to ridicule Janice Hahn's campaign and to suggestively portray young African Americans as criminals is an insult to women and African Americans in Los Angeles and across America."

"This ad is incredibly offensive and sexist to all women," Hahn campaign manager Dave Jacobson told TPM. "The producer of this ad should be ashamed of himself and Craig Huey should be ashamed to have this kind of thing produced on his behalf."

Hahn is favored to win the Democratic-leaning seat in the July 12 runoff. Huey's second-place win in May's all-party "jungle" primary was a surprise to many who believed two Democrats were most likely to emerge from the race.

Hahn received an endorsement Monday from former President Bill Clinton, who cast Hahn as the answer to "right-wing extremism."

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Key House Democrat urges Anthony Weiner to resign (The Ticket)

Anthony Weiner's political future looks increasingly in doubt.

Two more Democrats—Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania—called on the embattled New York Democrat to resign.

Schwartz is notable because she's a top official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she oversees candidate recruitment for House Democrats. She's the first member of the House Democratic leadership to call on Weiner to resign.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Schwartz said in a statement to Politico's Jonathan Allen. "In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign."

Her comments came as yet another explicit photo that Weiner allegedly sent to one of his online paramours was posted online.

As The Ticket previously reported, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate in Virginia, was the first member o the party to publicly urge Weiner to step down.

So far, the New York congressman has remained silent—though he's reportedly making apologetic calls to his fellow Dems in hopes of surviving the scandal.

(Photo of Weiner: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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Key House Democrat urges Anthony Weiner to resign (The Ticket)

Anthony Weiner's political future looks increasingly in doubt.

Two more Democrats—Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania—called on the embattled New York Democrat to resign.

Schwartz is notable because she's a top official at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she oversees candidate recruitment for House Democrats. She's the first member of the House Democratic leadership to call on Weiner to resign.

"Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress," Schwartz said in a statement to Politico's Jonathan Allen. "In light of Anthony Weiner's offensive behavior online, he should resign."

Her comments came as yet another explicit photo that Weiner allegedly sent to one of his online paramours was posted online.

As The Ticket previously reported, former Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine, who is running for Senate in Virginia, was the first member o the party to publicly urge Weiner to step down.

So far, the New York congressman has remained silent—though he's reportedly making apologetic calls to his fellow Dems in hopes of surviving the scandal.

(Photo of Weiner: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

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