Harry Reid Renounces Ted Cruz, Jon Stewart Mocks the NRA Convention, and More

Class Warfare:

Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the Senate floor to renounce Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday after the Texas Republican objected to Reid’s move to create a conference committee of Democrats and Republicans to work on the budget. “My friend from Texas is like the schoolyard bully,” an angry Reid began. “He pushes everybody around and is losing, and instead of playing the game according to the rules, he not only takes the ball home with him but changes the rules. That way no one wins except the bully who tries to indicate to people he has won.” Cruz responded, “I wasn’t aware we were in a schoolyard.” And things just got more heated from there. (Read more)

The Marrying Kind: Delaware became the 11th state to allow same-sex couples to wed after legalizing gay marriage Tuesday. The bill was passed by the state Senate on a 12-9 vote and was signed immediately after by Democratic Gov. Jack Markell. Under the new law, gay couples will be allowed to marry beginning July 1. As the L.A. Times noted, same-sex marriage is legal in virtually the entire northeast portion of the U.S. stretching from Maine to Maryland now, with the notable exceptions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Read more)

Shedding Light: Chris Christie revealed Tuesday that he secretly underwent gastric band surgery this year in order to help him lose weight. The famously overweight governor of New Jersey insisted he did it for his family, and not for political reasons. “I know it sounds crazy to say that running for president is minor, but in the grand scheme of things, it was looking at Mary Pat and the kids and going, ‘I have to do this for them, even if I don’t give a crap about myself,’ ” he said at a news conference. Christie, who is up for re-election and favored to win, says he also didn’t want to become a role model for obese people. He added, “All I want to be is a role model for my children.” (Read more)

Under the Gun: In the wake of plummeting poll numbers after her vote against expanding background checks on firearm purchases, Sen. Kelly Ayotte is doing some serious political spinning. In an op-ed published Monday, the New Hampshire Republican writes that she actually does support gun checks. “Out of state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence,” she insists. “I want to set the record straight: I support effective background checks and in fact voted recently to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).” Of course, that still doesn’t change the fact that she voted against the bipartisan compromise put forth by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would have expanded background checks to include the sales of weapons at gun shows and on the Internet. (Read more)

Video of the Day: Did you miss the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston over the weekend? Not a problem. “The Daily Show” has you covered with its recap of the annual event in a segment called “The Good, The Bad & The Crazy.” Bonus: Some of Jon Stewart’s favorite comedic targets — including Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck — were among the convention’s featured speakers. Diehard “Daily Show” fans can already guess where this going.