Political Scene

TENNESSEE

Boehner signals support for budget deal

NASHVILLE | House Speaker John A. Boehner, speaking to a convention of religious broadcasters Sunday, said he supports “reasonable spending cuts,” not shutting down the federal government.

In a prepared statement issued before his speech, the Ohio Republican predicted that a bipartisan budget deal will be approved before Friday, when the government’s current, stopgap funding expires.

“We have a moral responsibility to address the problems we face,” the speaker said. “That means working together to cut spending and rein in government — not shutting it down.”

ELECTIONS

In Iowa, Huckabee eyes presidential run

IOWA CITY, Iowa | Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he’s evaluating possible financial commitments for another run at the White House.

Mr. Huckabee was in Davenport on Sunday as part of a tour for his latest book, “A Simple Government — Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington (And a Trillion We Don’t).” Other stops are planned in the state through Monday.

Mr. Huckabee is mulling a second presidential bid. The Republican won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, but went on to lose the party’s presidential nomination to Sen. John McCain.

The Quad-City Times reports that Mr. Huckabee defended his hesitation to jump into the race. He told reporters in Davenport that the candidates who get in early have a long race ahead.

ARIZONA

Tea partiers again pick Paul in poll

PHOENIX | Tea party supporters voting in a straw poll at a national summit favor conservative Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Georgia radio host Herman Cain for president in 2012.

Mr. Cain won 22 percent support from the audience in Phoenix at the summit organized by the Tea Party Patriots. He was followed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Mr. Paul among those casting ballots in person.

Mr. Paul had the most votes overall, thanks to a swell of support from online voters. Between the two sets of results, there were about 1,600 votes. Mr. Paul gathered more than one-third of them.

Mr. Pawlenty and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin each had 9 percent overall. Mr. Cain, Mr. Paul and Mr. Pawlenty were the only three to speak at the three-day summit.

WASHINGTON

Daley to activists: Keep fighting, keep faith

White House Chief of Staff William Daley told Democratic activists in Washington on Saturday to “keep up the fight” and not lose faith despite continued hard economic times.

Mr. Daley, speaking at a Democratic National Committee meeting, recalled the days after the November elections, when Republicans won the House and increased their ranks in the Senate.

He said the conventional wisdom was that President Obama’s agenda had stalled. But by year’s end, Mr. Obama had a tax-cut deal with Republicans, the Senate ratified a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, and Congress approved the long-stalled repeal of a ban on openly gay military service.

Mr. Daley told the activists that their backing has helped the administration be successful. He asked for their continued support, saying “we’ve got big things to do together.”

ELECTIONS

Colorado starts redistricting process

LOVELAND, Colo. | Colorado isn’t growing fast enough to get a new member of Congress. But that doesn’t mean residents don’t want to see more political fireworks within Colorado’s seven congressional districts.

State lawmakers started work Saturday on their once-a-decade job of redrawing political lines with hearings Saturday in Loveland and Fort Morgan.

Several residents at the Loveland hearing urged politicians in the state General Assembly to resist politicizing the redistricting process. One of the residents, Robert May of Denver, pointed out that Colorado’s 1st District in Denver is a slam-dunk for Democrats, while the nearby 6th District in Denver’s southern suburbs is a slam-dunk for the GOP. Any Republicans living in the city, or any Democrats living in those suburbs, have little chance to compete.

“That’s not democracy,” Mr. May argued. “We have to compete.”