A report by Politico.com today takes a look at the fact that support for gay marriage has surged everywhere in the country – except at the U.S. Capitol.

Granted, the piece points out, Republicans have pretty much dropped their calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban it, and some even have declared it to be a matter for the states – not the federal government.

But the lede of the story is provided by a certain Georgia politician who recently scheduled his retirement:

Take Sen. Saxby Chambliss. When asked if his views had changed on gay marriage, the Georgia Republican quipped: “I’m not gay. So I’m not going to marry one.”

We’re not even sure what that means. Unless it's that he has no dog in the fight -- and really doesn't care. In that case, his remark would indicate a shift from opposition to neutrality.

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Should he jump into the 2014 Senate race to replace Saxby Chambliss, Tom Price apparently wants to make sure he’ll be the most reasonable – but conservative -- fellow in the GOP field.

The Roswell congressman was on C-SPAN this morning, when a caller chided the House Republican for a budget proposal, to be voted on today, that is based on the elimination of – well, paging Dr. Price:

“I rarely call it Obamacare. The president calls it Obamacare. I don’t, because some people believe that’s a pejorative. So I call it ‘the president’s health care law’ or the ACA.”

That would be the Affordable Care Act.

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Daniel Malloy, the AJC guy in Washington, this morning takes a look at U.S. Rep. Paul Broun’s rebellious votes – cast as he runs for the U.S. Senate. They include opposition to the budget plan proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., which comes up for a vote today:

Broun voted for the Ryan budget in 2011, even though it spent far more than this year’s version. Broun said he did so as a show of support for the new House’s first big attempt at a Medicare overhaul. He missed the vote last year because a meeting ran long but said he would have been a “no.”

Politico tackles the same topic, saying that House GOP leaders are worried that Broun may pull the entire GOP field too far to the right next year:

Broun’s opposition to the budget seems to be causing problems for [Jack] Kingston. He said he isn’t sure how he’ll vote on the spending plan, and his office removed a statement of support for the bill from its website. He voted for a nearly identical budget last year.

The rush to the right among the Georgians is all too clear. [Phil] Gingrey is a 10-year veteran of the House, and Kingston has been in Washington for two decades, never causing their leadership much trouble. Now they find themselves as radicals, voting against things like procedural motions — an unpredictable move not welcomed by party leaders.

“Everybody can see what’s going on here,” a veteran GOP lawmaker said.

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A National Review Online article sorting out U.S. Rep. Paul Broun's chances of success in the 2014 Senate race touches on the Athens' congressman's penchant for big-game hunting:

When he had to move offices a few months ago, the movers made quite a scene parading the heads of wild animals through the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Broun doesn’t hunt just for the trophies. “If I shoot it, I’m gonna eat it,” he says. His warthog was particularly toothsome. “It’s actually pork,” he explains. “I had roast warthog, it was cooked in a French style. I’m a French cook myself, and I like to cook things with some fancy sauces and stuff that I’ll make at home. That was excellent.”

The only thing he didn’t especially care for was the lion. “The lion wasn’t particularly tasty,” he says. “It was kind of chewy, but I ate it too.”

***

In the state Capitol, Walter Jones of Morris News Service reports that a Senate subcommittee chaired by Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, gave quick approval Wednesday to legislation that would “move the licensing of dentists, hygienists and pharmacists from Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office to another state agency.” Kemp was not allowed to speak – or demand that someone put a price tag on the shift.

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A new group called Stop Predatory Gambling Georgia has set itself up to provide some last-minute opposition to HB 487, now headed for a House-Senate conference committee. The measure would give the Georgia Lottery Commission licensing authority over video lottery terminals in Georgia. Opponents say this amounts to the legalization of video poker.

Leaders of SPGG are Ray Newman, lobbyist for Georgia Baptist Convention; Terri Green, who is deeply involved in faith-based outreach for the Georgia GOP; and Judy Craft, former field director for the Georgia Chistian Alliance.

***

Wholly, completely, and entirely by coincidence, Tim Echols of the state Public Service Commission this morning passed along the following via Twitter:

“Christians can be like manure, lump them all together, and they can be stinky. Spread them out, for good results.”

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Jim Walls of Atlanta Unfiltered reports that allegations of wrongdoing in the state's juvenile prisons could be sealed from public view under a bill considered today by a House subcommittee. Witnesses for the state Department of Juvenile Justice said the bill was intended to protect children in custody from retaliation for reporting gang or other criminal activity. The current version of the bill, though, makes no mention of gangs or juvenile crime.

Rather, Walls reports, it would exempt from disclosure "the information provided by children who report abuses or wrongdoing in the juvenile justice system."

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Charlie Harper over at PeachPundit reports the following:

Former Georgia Secretary of State and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel is now exploring entering the U.S. Senate race to replace Saxby Chambliss as an active possibility.  Handel has been mostly quiet since Chambliss’ surprise retirement announcement, while allowing conventional wisdom to linger that she would seek the 6th District Congressional Seat presumably to be vacated by Tom Price.

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USA Today has some happy news out of Detroit – younger buyers are increasingly choosing American cars over Japanese models:

New vehicles from Detroit's Big 3 -- General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler -- accounted for 36.8% of cars bought by Americans age 25 to 34 in 2012, up from 35.4% in 2008. During the same period, the share of cars from Japanese brands -- Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others -- for the same age group fell from 50.6% to 42.9% during the same period.

***

The Washington Post provides the latest update to a yet-unseen, bipartisan effort at immigration reform:

A Senate immigration plan would dramatically increase the number of high-skilled foreign workers allowed into the country and give permanent legal status to an unlimited number of students who earn graduate degrees from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering or math, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

 The agreement would be a major victory for the tech industry, which has backed an intense lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill in recent months arguing that Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other companies are having trouble finding qualified workers because of visa limits.