“On Wednesday, less than a week before he’s favored to win a third term in Congress, Schock met with top officials at the Republican Governors Association in Washington, to discuss the possibility of running for Illinois’s top job in 2014. Four sources in Illinois and Washington with knowledge of Schock’s meeting with the RGA said his interest in the race is an open secret, and that he’s told donors he is seriously considering the contest.” [National Journal, via Political Wire]

“Labor unions and liberal interest groups are going all-out for President Barack Obama’s reelection — but they’re just as ready to turn that firepower back on him if he betrays them with a grand bargain. These groups fear a victorious Obama would ink a deal with Republicans during the fiscal cliff negotiations that slashes entitlement benefits.” [Politico]

15 Best Star Wars/Disney Merger Memes [Buzzfeed]

Our guest colloquists are Ralph Gilles, Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler, and Donald Trump, a Short-Fingered Vulgarian.

@realdonaldtrump you are full of shit!

— Ralph Gilles (@RalphGilles) November 1, 2012

[Jalopnik, via @pourmecoffee]

Our guest columnist is Jim Messina, campaign manager for Obama for America, who’s stepping up his guilt-tripping in the final days.

According to our records associated with this exact email address:

— Total you’ve donated for the 2012 campaign cycle: $0

— Date of your most recent donation: September 09, 2008

— Suggested donation today: $15

You stepped up and made your mark in 2008 — but it looks like you haven’t made a donation yet to the 2012 campaign. With five days to go, what’s holding you back, Nojo?

Message received, Jim. You know where to find us when you prosecute the Bush War Criminals and pass the Public Option.

[via email]

Okay, fine, let’s deal with this:

Two women from the Dominican Republic told The Daily Caller that Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez paid them for sex earlier this year.

In interviews, the two women said they met Menendez around Easter at Casa de Campo, an expensive 7,000 acre resort in the Dominican Republic. They claimed Menendez agreed to pay them $500 for sex acts, but in the end they each received only $100.

First, let’s all agree that if true, Bob Menendez is a cheapskate. (For the record, the Menendez campaign denies the paid tryst.)

Read more »

“The brother of Kerry Bentivolio says the Michigan [GOP] congressional candidate, who’s favored to win on Tuesday, is ‘mentally unbalanced’ and could end up in jail. ‘I’ve never met anyone in my life who is conniving and dishonest as this guy,’ Phillip Bentivolio said… ‘He’s my brother so it’s hard to talk about this, but I believe that if he gets elected, he’ll eventually serve time in prison.'” [Politico]