The $889 Million Dollar Men

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

  • CASHING IN ON KOCH: The Associated Press' PHILIP ELLIOTT and STEVE PEOPLES report on Koch brothers' enormous financial commitment for 2016: "Flexing its financial might, the political machine backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch on Monday told its allies that spending across its conservative network would approach $1 billion ahead of 2016's elections. The stunning sum from Freedom Partners would dwarf expected spending from official GOP committees and many of the hopefuls expected to seek the party's presidential nomination in 2016. The $889 million budget is almost twice what 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney spent from his campaign accounts. The hefty budget also suggests that the Koch-backed groups are prepared to spend heavily and early to weaken the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton." http://abcn.ws/15CiFJb
  • BROTHERLY LOVE: "Let me be very clear, I admire Charles and David Koch," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told ABC's JONATHAN KARL at a Palm Springs forum sponsored by Freedom Partners over the weekend. The Texas senator was joined by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky. "There are a bunch of Democrats who have taken as their talking point that the Koch brothers are the nexus of all evil in the world," Cruz continued. "I think that is grotesque and offensive." Rubio added, "I believe in freedom of speech. And I believe that spending on political campaigns is a form of political speech that is protected under the constitution." Paul acknowledged that special interests can have a negative influence on government, but said the only special interests he's concerned about "are those who do business with government, get government contracts, take the government money and then try to get more contracts." More from ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI: http://abcn.ws/15MN2xd FULL TRANSCRIPT: http://abcn.ws/1Bs0m4v
  • RUBIO VS. WALKER - WHY A SENATOR THINKS GOVERNORS MIGHT NOT MAKE GOOD PRESIDENTS: "I think the No. 1 obligation of the federal government is the national security of the United States in conducting its foreign policy," Sen. Marco Rubio said at this past weekend's forum, according to ABC's ERIN DOOLEY. "I do think having experience but also a seriousness about the breadth and scope of the challenges we face which are much more difficult than they were 25 years ago" is important for a potential president, he said. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is also contemplating a bid for the presidency in 2016, told ABC's JONATHAN KARL in November that the Republican nominee has "got to be an outsider." "I think both the presidential and the vice presidential nominee should either be a former or current governor, people who have done successful things in their states, who have taken on big reforms, who are ready to move America forward," Walker told Karl. "Well, if I was a governor I'd say the same thing," Rubio said Sunday night. http://abcn.ws/1z3hX1W

MORE VIDEO FROM THE CONFERENCE:

-PAUL, RUBIO, CRUZ FACE OFF OVER IRAN SANCTIONS: http://abcn.ws/1xYPHe3

-RAND PAUL 'SURROUNDED' BY OPPONENTS ON CUBA: http://abcn.ws/15Cr3s3

-PAUL ON POSSIBLE ROMNEY RUN: 'NO, NO, NO, NO, NEVER': http://abcn.ws/1JtmCid

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's RICK KLEIN: We're deep into the "invisible primary." But it's the visible stuff that often matters, feeding the harder-to-see elements. Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio found ways to poke above the surface the unofficial kickoff weekend of 2016. Walker was a star in Des Moines, weaving personal narrative through policy highlights with an energetic speech that managed to break through in the middle of a long day. (The Dropkick Murphys may even have helped him, drawing another day's worth of attention to Walker's appearance.) And Rubio broke through at a forum in Palm Springs sponsored by Freedom Partners on Sunday, using foreign policy to distinguish himself from, most notably, Sen. Rand Paul. The crowds in Iowa (conservative activists) and California (wealthy donors aligned with the Koch brothers) were among the rare audiences where the in-the-room perceptions matter more than TV audience. Both men got the right rooms buzzing - an important achievement in a crowded GOP field.

ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: There's a long history of politicians' future ambitions being walloped by snowstorms and other weather related incidents, but this one turned out not to be as bad as we all thought it might be. Instead of blame, there's some Monday morning quarterbacking if the travel bans and train stoppages were overblown. This morning on ABC's New York City affiliate WABC, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was asked about it and he didn't pause, answering in his signature style: "My response is we were listening to all of you!" And in other Garden State news, despite the headlines over Christie's hug with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, New Jersey residents don't care. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 70 percent said the controversy over his trip to Dallas, paid for by Jones, was politically motivated and only 11 percent say it is a serious issue. And only 13 percent of voters in the state think less of Christie because he is a Cowboys fan. http://bit.ly/1Lbi81n

ON THE ROAD WITH POTUS

-OBAMA TALKS RELIGION, RACE IN INDIA FAREWELL. On his final day in India, President Obama declared U.S. relations with the world's largest democracy "one of the defining partnerships of this century," while nudging his Indian counterpart, Narenda Modi, to pursue greater economic equality, women's rights, and religious tolerance, ABC's DEVIN DWYER reports. In a speech to New Delhi youth, Obama sought to leverage three days of back-slapping and bonhomie into a subtle challenge to the right-wing, Hindu nationalist government of his host. One Indian media outlet went so far to describe Obama's words as a "snub." "India will succeed as long as it's not splintered along religious lines," Obama declared, a message some viewed as direct reference to the anti-Muslim policies of Modi's ruling party and their efforts to constrain Muslim and Christian groups that do evangelization and religious conversion. http://abcn.ws/1uwLLj6

-FROM INDIA TO SAUDI. President Obama now turns to a much different alliance, making a rare and impromptu visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on his way home. The president will pay his respects to the Saudi royal family after Friday's death of King Abdullah, mark the transition to King Salman, and discuss the fight against ISIS and the situation in Yemen, White House officials said. Obama brings with him more than two dozen top dignitaries, including Republican Sen. John McCain, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and former George W. Bush Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Obama is due back on U.S. soil tomorrow.

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

FIVE WAYS CHRIS CHRISTIE HAS DEALT WITH WEATHER CRISES. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has dealt with his fair share of natural disasters. With a nasty blizzard blanketing the Garden State Monday, he declared the 15th weather-related state of emergency since he took office in January 2010. "We're tough in this state; we've been through plenty of things before. So have I," Christie said during a press conference yesterday. Each hurricane, flood or related crisis has the side effect, however unintended, of providing the possible 2016 contender an opportunity to demonstrate his leadership style. Here in chronological order are five key weather-related moments during Christie's tenure, courtesy of ABC's ALI WEINBERG: http://abcn.ws/1H0OsEw

TERRY SCARE: IOWA GOV. BRANSTAD FALLS ILL, HEADS TO HOSPITAL. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad "fell ill" at an event today, according to his office, requiring an ambulance to take him to a Des Moines hospital, ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE and JEFF ZELENY report. In a statement Monday evening, Dr. Mark Purtle, chief medical officer of UnityPoint Health-Des Moines, who treated Branstad said, "After personally reviewing the governor's medical records, with his permission, and visiting with him and his attending physicians, we believe the governor has a viral illness with dehydration." "We also conducted a series of tests in which we ruled out other contributing factors, including cardiac issues," Purtle said. "The governor is still receiving fluids and is resting comfortably."

WHY HILLARY CLINTON HAS BEEN M.I.A. LATELY. At a time when many potential 2016 presidential contenders appear to be starting the ignition of their campaigns, Hillary Clinton has pressed the brake pedal. Or so it seems. Clinton's calendar, which was jam-packed throughout most of last year with paid speeches, award ceremonies, fundraisers, book tour stops, campaign appearances and official Clinton Foundation business, is now virtually empty, according to ABC's LIZ KREUTZ. Over the past six weeks, the likely Democratic presidential candidate has made just two public appearances - both on the same day, and both in Canada. She doesn't have another event scheduled until late next month. A Clinton spokesman declined to comment on reasons for her light public schedule. But, according to Democratic strategists and Clinton insiders, this is exactly how it should be. Here's why: http://abcn.ws/1zhJ0tp

BIDEN AND BOEHNER SHARE STATE OF THE UNION SURVIVAL TIPS. In a rare instance of bipartisanship, Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner both agree that sitting through the State of the Union can be a bit of a bore, ABC's MARY BRUCE notes. Biden complained about having to sit attentively behind the president at last week's address. "I sit back there and I listen and I helped write the ideas in the speech and I know it all and I've got to pay attention," he griped in an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Feigning interest in the speech is a task that Biden shares with Boehner as the two sit on-camera behind the president throughout the entire address. "I stare at the back of the president's head and my goal is to make no news," Boehner told CBS'"60 Minutes." "This is the president's night. … Although inside I've got a lot of things rolling through my mind," he said. http://abcn.ws/1C7yipP

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WHY LBJ WASN'T LBJ: DEBUNKING MYTHS OF LYNDON JOHNSON'S LEGACY. Lyndon B. Johnson is remembered in history as a larger-than-life president whose uncanny powers of persuasion allowed him to accomplish monumental legislative feats and bring sweeping changes across the country. But in a new book "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society," historian and author Julian Zelizer offers a critique to the Johnson mystique - arguing that "we exaggerate how much power" the 36th president actually had. "We have this image that he could twist any arm he wanted, get any bill through Congress," Zelizer told "Top Line" in an interview. "But that doesn't really capture the moment of the 1960's when he got a lot of these bills through, and I think it does a disservice both to the current president and others who are compared to him and to Johnson in that period of time." More from RICK KLEIN, OLIVIER KNOX, JORDYN PHELPS and ALI DUKAKIS: http://yhoo.it/1BjoV19

WHO'S TWEETING?

? @samsteinhp: Ah. What richness it is to see political pundits mock the weather predictors for missing this blizzard

@froomkin: As a government official, you simply cannot get in trouble anymore for overreacting.

@Alex_Roarty: White House puts its thumb on the scale for Harris http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/White-House-gives-a-boost-to-Kamala-Harris-6041446.php …

@postpolitics: The Fix's 2015 list of best state political reporters http://wapo.st/1zTlC5g

@matthewjdowd: Thoughtful Tuesday! love isn't the absence of suffering in my and the world, but in holding it in a place of compassion and kindness.