The woman who could beat Scott Walker  —  Part of an occasional series on the hottest races of the 2014 midterm election.  —  VIROQUA, Wis. — Mary Burke might be the last candidate you'd expect to potentially topple one of the Republican Party's leading governors and upend the 2016 presidential field.

Americans' views of Obama, Congress, political parties: Gloomy  —  Shares -  —  Americans' views of both political parties are negative and nearly match historic lows, a new CBS News poll reveals.  —  Just 29 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Republican Party …

Has the ‘Libertarian Moment’ Finally Arrived?  —  “Let's say Ron Paul is Nirvana,” said Kennedy, the television personality and former MTV host, by way of explaining the sort of politician who excites libertarians like herself.  “Like, the coolest, most amazing thing to come along in years …

Local Kansas GOP official: ‘Offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person.  Especially with a .45.’  —  Gavin Ellzey, the vice chairman of the Kansas Republican 3rd Congressional District Committee, advised on Twitter in early July that “offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person.”

EBOLA DOC'S CONDITION DOWNGRADED TO ‘IDIOTIC’  —  I wonder how the Ebola doctor feels now that his humanitarian trip has cost a Christian charity much more than any services he rendered.  —  What was the point?  —  Whatever good Dr. Kent Brantly did in Liberia has now been overwhelmed …

Tea Party Candidate Mocks Rand Paul For Running Away From DREAMer (VIDEO)  —  When you're a long-shot independent candidate for public office, you've got to exploit each news cycle.  —  Case in point: Gordon Howie, the tea party activist and former South Dakota legislator who's running in the state's open U.S. Senate race.

John Kerry pedals new Nantucket photo op  —  Photo by:  —  THINK PINK: John Kerry rides a pink girl's bicycle with his dog in tow in the parking lot at Jetties Beach on Nantucket.  Photo courtesy of Nantucket native Lando from his Instagram, Landogramms  —  Has Vladimir Putin seen this photo of John Kerry yet?

The Islamic State's bloody campaign to exterminate minorities: 'Even Genghis Khan didn't do this'  —  In the back of a cavernous hall, standing behind rows of solemn-looking men, an Iraqi politician known for her passion began to shriek.  Her name was Vian Dakhil: the lone representative of the Yazidi people in Iraq's parliament.

The Callow President  —  “'Stop just hatin' all the time.”  If you haven't been following the news, you might not know whether this bon mot was uttered by a character on the ABC Family show “Pretty Little Liars” or by the president of the United States.  —  Of course, it was the leader …

Why is Tenn. primary on Thursday?  —  Tennesseans will go to the polls to vote in party primaries on Thursday — including Sen. Lamar Alexander's bid for a third term — but nobody really knows why.  —  All other states — except Hawaii, which votes this Saturday — hold their primaries on a Tuesday.

The irony of Barack Obama's presidency in one sentence  —  TWEET SHARE +1 LINKEDIN EMAIL PRINT  —  Reid Cherlin nails the central irony of Barack Obama's presidency in one sentence: … The 2008 Democratic primary was, as Mark Schmitt wrote, a “theory of change” primary.

Watergate and the Abuse of Power: A Lesson Unlearned  —  The Fiscal Times  —  This week, America wraps up the fortieth anniversary of its most dangerous constitutional crises since the Civil War, with little celebration - and arguably no real insight into its lessons.

Snowden granted 3-yr residence permit - lawyer  —  Edward Snowden has received a residence permit in Russia, which is valid for three years, starting on August 1, the former NSA contractor's lawyer announced.  —  “On the first of August he received a three-year residence permit,” lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told reporters.

Obama defends executive action  —  President Obama defended his use of executive action on Wednesday, signaling he's willing to take steps on immigration and tax policy if Congress fails to act.  —  Obama vowed to “scour our authorities” seeking opportunities to act “wherever I have the legal authorities to make progress.”

Bloomberg to cancel ‘Political Capital with Al Hunt,’ lay off TV and print staff  —  Bloomberg Media has decided to cancel its weekly political talk show, “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” and will lay off 15 television and print employees in its Washington, D.C., bureau, POLITICO has learned.

Tennessee Drug Tests Welfare Applicants, Discovers Less Than One Percent Use Drugs  —  In July, Tennessee began a drug testing program for applicants to the state's welfare program.  Since then, just one person has tested positive out of more than 800.  —  Applicants have to answer three questions …

In Reprisal, Russia Imposes Trade Sanctions on the West  —  MOSCOW — Russia announced on Thursday that it was banning the import of a wide range of food and agricultural products from Europe and the United States, among others, responding to Western-imposed sanctions and raising the level …

Miss. Republican Party will not hear McDaniel challenge  —  Interview from Nosef.  —  GOP committee member John Parker comments.  —  Cochran campaign comment.  —  The Mississippi Republican Party has said they will not hear the challenge from Chris McDaniel because state law would not allow …

GOP Senate candidates mostly bash Begich, Obama and EPA in Fairbanks forum  —  FAIRBANKS — The top three impediments to development in Alaska, according to the three GOP Senate candidates who answered questions at a Chamber of Commerce forum here Wednesday, are as follows:

Primaries show Republican voters wary of Tea Party candidates, skeptical of party establishment  —  KANSAS 2014 ELECTIONS RAND PAUL CAMPAIGNS MICHIGAN JUSTIN AMASH PAT ROBERTS FRED UPTON SAM BROWNBACK  —  The standard thing to say about the various Republican primaries this year …

Meet the New Rick Perry—Is He the Same as the Old Rick Perry?  —  Many pundits give the Texas governor slim odds in 2016 after his disastrous presidential run in 2012.  Maybe they're missing something.  —  Let's start with the glasses.  You know what I'm talking about: the dark-rimmed …