“He’s the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics. He is as good a man as God has ever created.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an interview with the Huffington Post, on Vice President Joe Biden.
“He’s the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics. He is as good a man as God has ever created.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an interview with the Huffington Post, on Vice President Joe Biden.
Former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Said Webb: “I understand the odds.”
Members of the Maine legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted unanimously to start a formal investigation into Gov. Paul LePage’s (R) use of taxpayer money to force Good Will-Hinckley to fire House Speaker Mark Eves (D), the Bangor Daily News reports.
LePage’s office claims the legislature has no right under the state constitution to investigate him.
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“Well, somebody’s doing the raping, Don. I mean somebody’s doing it. Who’s doing the raping?”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with CNN, when anchor Don Lemon pointed out that a Fusion article Trump cited was about migrant women being raped and not immigrants crossing the border illegal committing rape.
While President Obama‘s “top foreign-policy initiatives–particularly on Cuba, trade and Iran–have dominated the headlines lately, the White House is gearing up for a domestic policy push that’s largely been under the radar,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In coming weeks, the White House is expected to roll out more executive orders, perhaps on gun safety. And top White House officials are hoping to capitalize on their successful collaboration with congressional Republicans on trade to advance a business-tax overhaul and transportation initiatives targeted at shoring up the country’s infrastructure. Changes to the criminal justice system are also at the top of the president’s domestic wish list.”
“You rise above it publicly, but quietly, underneath, cut somebody’s legs off.”
— Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R), in an interview on MSNBC, on how he would handle the public feud between New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (D).
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has spent about $10 million into reserved TV air time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — including nearly $5 million in Iowa alone, WMUR reports.
First Read: “It’s smart, and we’re surprised that we haven’t seen other campaigns talking about doing the same thing. The early buys give Rubio a competitive advantage over other candidates, since he’s been able lock down good time slots for ads – not to mention at a cheaper rate. With a combined 20 or so candidates of both parties running for president – and at least one super PAC for each of ’em – there could be as many as 40 different political committees jockeying for ad time. There’s only so much advertising time between 6am and 11pm in Iowa and New Hampshire, and candidates who reserve late are simply going to get stuck airing ads in the dead of night. Sooner or later, you’re going to see a panicked run on the available time that’s left.”
First Read: “Donald Trump vs. Macy’s. The battle over the Ex-Im bank. Conservatives decrying the same-sex marriage ruling, immigration reform and normalization of relations with Cuba. A lot of stories in the past week have demonstrated how the Republican Party just isn’t a reliably comfortable home for big business anymore. A big part of that has to do with the fast-changing landscape on social issues. Big brands raced to find catchy ways to embrace the same-sex marriage decision last week even as the 2016 Republican candidates denounced it. As we’ve seen with the spectacularly quick race of businesses like Macy’s and now professional golf organizations away from Donald Trump, companies had no interest in being associated with anti-Latino statements.”
“This is all for financial reasons, by the way; businesses have decided that they don’t want to offend customers and they don’t want to be boycotted. That’s a cynical way to look at, we know. But it also shows just how influential groups like Latinos and the LGBT community have become – not just politically, but when it comes to purchasing power as well.”
Jonathan Chait: “It is not politically significant that Donald Trump would claim to be running for president, that he would say something flamboyantly ignorant, or that he would ‘surge’ to ‘second place’ in polls by using his name recognition to get into double digits in a splintered field. What is significant and genuinely disturbing, not to mention poisonous to the Republican Party’s electoral interests, is the fact that conservative thought leaders feel compelled to defend Trump’s nativist ramblings. And not just bottom-feeding outlets like the Daily Caller and Breitbart, either. National Review editor Rich Lowry writes in Politico that Trump ‘has a point.'”
Here’s what’s trending on Wonk Wire today:
A new Monmouth University Poll in New Jersey, taken after Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential announcement, found that “a large majority feels that Christie has abandoned his commitment to the state and few say he is a good fit for the Oval Office.”
Key finding: “Just 27% of New Jerseyans say Chris Christie would make a good president. More than two-thirds (69%) say he would not.”
Matt Bai: “At least he’s not running for reelection as governor. Because with a 30 percent approval rating in New Jersey, Christie is now less popular in his home state than his predecessor, Jon Corzine, whom he beat pretty much by just showing up and having a pulse. If Christie takes a liking to bucolic New Hampshire, he might consider moving there.”
Gov. Scott Walker will file paperwork with the FEC this morning to formally jump into the GOP presidential race, with a formal announcement event planned for July 13, NBC News reports.
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low of 5.3 percent, Bloomberg reports.
New York Times: “To protect his lead in Iowa, a state with a heavily conservative Republican electorate, Mr. Walker has taken a harder line on a number of issues than his allies had anticipated. Now a growing number of party leaders say Mr. Walker is raising questions about his authenticity and may be jeopardizing his prospects in states where voters’ sensibilities are more moderate.”
“His response to the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage most emphatically demonstrated his sharp shift to the right: Mr. Walker called the court’s ruling ‘a grave mistake’ and reiterated his call for a constitutional amendment that would allow states to ban same-sex marriage. It sent a clear message to social conservatives, and one that was noticeably not echoed by two of his leading rivals, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush — who warned last year that Republicans would need to campaign as if they were willing to lose the nomination if they hoped to win the general election.”
“Serta, the largest U.S. mattress manufacturer, will end its business relationship with Donald Trump after he made disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants,” Bloomberg reports.
“The company, which sells Trump Home-branded mattresses, will not renew its licensing agreement with the billionaire presidential candidate when it expires at the end of the year, according to an e-mailed statement.”
Gawker has a “comprehensive list” of everyone trying to sever ties with Trump.
A new Quinnipiac poll in Iowa finds Sen. Bernie Sanders is gaining ground on Hillary Clinton in the Iowa Democratic Caucus and now trails the front-runner 52% to 33% among likely caucus participants.
“When it comes to Washington backbiting, even the dead don’t get to rest in peace. Among the revelations to emerge from the latest trove of Hillary Clinton emails are jokes and gibes at the expense of Richard Holbrooke, the legendary diplomat who died on the job of a torn aorta (literally a broken heart) in December 2010 as he sought to contain the chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Politico reports.
“The emails, released by the State Department in response to a request by the House special committee on Benghazi, tend to confirm the sad narrative of Holbrooke’s last years, when he found himself cut out of senior-level discussions and his powers curtailed by the Obama White House. He was also made the butt of jokes by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta over what even Holbrooke’s friends admit was his lifelong, almost desperate, ambition to be secretary of state.”
Politico profiles Huma Abedin, who is “is weaning herself slowly away from a life on the road to occupy a perch overseeing the campaign operation and serving more often as an independent surrogate for her boss.”
“Her elevation comes as longtime top Clinton aides like Cheryl Mills, Maggie Williams and Philippe Reines have receded in influence and are not functioning as part of the current campaign’s inner circle. Instead, Abedin has been elevated to the most senior member of Clinton’s old guard, and the person filling a role Clinton has always valued: that of the strong, trusted, female advisor.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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