GOP Congressman Quits, Romney VP Guessing Game and More

House Member Resigns:

Thadeus McCotter, a Republican from Michigan, abruptly resigned from the U.S. House on Friday afternoon following what he called a “nightmarish month and a half.” His resignation comes after he failed to qualify to be on the ballot in the coming election, a development that would have forced him to run as a write-in candidate for re-election. (Read more)

Vice President Condi?: Is Condoleezza Rice the front-runner to become Mitt Romney’s running mate? The Weekly Standard’s William Kristol thinks so, based on Ann Romney’s assertion Thursday that her husband was looking at choosing a female to round out his presidential ticket. Time to play the Mitt Romney VP guessing game again! Kristol predicts: “Who’s the woman? It could be Kelly Ayotte or New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. But as much as I like both of them, I suspect Mitt Romney will see them as risky picks, lacking sufficient high-level government experience to unequivocally answer the question of whether they’d be qualified to take over. No, the woman Ann Romney likely has in mind is Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state.” (Read more)

Cain’s Alleged Ex-Mistress Speaks Out: Ginger White, the woman whose claims about a 13-year affair with Herman Cain helped end his GOP presidential bid, is finally breaking her silence in an article she penned for Salon. In the article, White discusses her relationship with Cain, the decision to come forward with the allegations, and the aftermath of it all. She wrote: “I’ve been asked many times: If you had to do it all over again, would you? Absolutely. Going public with my relationship with Herman Cain not only freed me from an entanglement that was wrong but it also helped to rid the presidential race of a hypocrite like Herman Cain. At least that’s what I tell myself.” (Read more)

California Legislature Calls for Amendment Against Citizens United: The Golden State is taking a stand against Citizens United, the controversial Supreme Court ruling that opened the floodgates, allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts to influence politics. On Thursday, the California Senate approved an Assembly resolution to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision. Five other states have already taken stands against the campaign finance ruling: Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont. (Read more)

Trump Watch—The Donald Not a Lock at the GOP Convention: Donald Trump may not attend the Republican convention in Tampa after all. Trump’s top political aide (aside: Why does someone who’s not a politician have a political aide?) told Politico: “Many people want him to go, but he’s considering it. He’s got an extremely busy schedule and it all depends on other commitments that he has.” Trump will be too busy doing what? Hosting “Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars”? (Read more)

Video of the Day: During a recent appearance on CNN, tea party fave Rep. Joe Walsh didn’t want to walk back his controversial remarks about military veteran Tammy Duckworth, the Democrat he’s running against for his Illinois congressional seat. So instead he repeatedly said Ashleigh Banfield’s first name as she took him to task for his comments. According to HuffPost reporter Sam Stein’s unofficial tally, Walsh said “Ashleigh” 92 times during the interview.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom