NBC News: “A House Republican often at odds with John Boehner launched a bid Tuesday to kick the speaker of the house out of his job — an almost unheard-of rebellion but one that has been simmering for months. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) filed a motion to ‘vacate the chair’ — a parliamentary maneuver that could be used to depose Boehner. The motion accuses Boehner of having ‘endeavored to consolidate power and centralize decision-making, bypassing the majority of the 435 Members of Congress and the people they represent,’ and of using ‘the power of the office to punish Members who vote according to their conscience instead of the will of the Speaker.'”
Archives for July 2015
Quote of the Day
“I’m the one person who will say you do have the right to be left alone and that we really don’t want President Obama collecting all of our phone records.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by the Boston Globe.
The Trump Effect Reshapes GOP Field
“Donald Trump’s explosive rise in the polls has come at the expense of every other GOP presidential candidate except for Jeb Bush and Scott Walker — who arguably have been helped by the businessman’s rise,” The Hill reports.
“The media storm surrounding Trump is starving other candidates of oxygen — including major contenders such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has seen his polling numbers plummet 3.2 percentage points since Trump’s entry. Bush, in contrast, has seen his support rise by 2.9 percentage points, while Walker gained 1.1 percentage points. Trump has risen by 14.6 percentage points since launching his campaign.”
Taliban Leader Is Dead
“Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban, is dead, according to three Afghan officials and two people close to the Taliban,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“His death, if confirmed, raises questions about who will lead the movement that allied with al Qaeda, fought a war with the U.S. and is now divided over whether to pursue an elusive peace deal with Afghanistan’s new government.”
Trump Would ‘Love’ Palin In His Administration
Donald Trump says that he’d “love” to have Sarah Palin join his administration should he be elected president, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “She really is somebody who knows what’s happening, and she’s a special person. Everybody loves her.”
Why Is There a Two-Month Gap in Clinton’s Emails?
Daily Beast: “Among the approximately 2,000 emails that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has released from her private account, there is a conspicuous two-month gap. There are no emails between Clinton and her State Department staff during May and June 2012, a period of escalating violence in Libya leading up to the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead.”
“That two-month period also coincides with a senior Clinton aide obtaining a special exemption that allowed her to work both as a staff member to the secretary and in a private capacity for Clinton and her husband’s foundation. The Associated Press has sued to obtain emails from Clinton’s account about the aide, Huma Abedin.”
The Wilderness
Here’s a must-read: The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party’s Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest to Take Back the White House by McKay Coppins.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“You guys should know by now that the Monmouth University poll was created just to aggravate me. There couldn’t be a less objective pollster about Chris Christie in America.”
— Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by the Washington Post, complaining about a national poll that showed him with just 4% support in the GOP presidential primary.
Mark Cuban Says Donald Trump is Best Thing for Politics
Billionaire Mark Cuban told Business Insider that Donald Trump is “probably the best thing to happen to politics in a long, long time.”
Said Cuban: “I don’t care what his actual positions are. I don’t care if he says the wrong thing. He says what’s on his mind. He gives honest answers rather than prepared answers. This is more important than anything any candidate has done in years.”
Walker Says GOP Primary Could Drag on for Months
Gov. Scott Walker “suggested that Republican primary could drag on for months, driving up the importance of states that vote later in the spring — states like Pennsylvania, which doesn’t vote until the end of April,” Politico reports.
Said Walker: “We’re not just running an early-state campaign. We think with the quality of the field it’s very likely that even states like [Pennsylvania] later in April will play a role. It may go as far as — it could be close to the convention before we know who the ultimate nominee is.”
Inside Rand Paul’s Floundering Campaign
Sen. Rand Paul, “once seen as a top-tier contender, finds his presidential hopes fading fast as he grapples with deep fundraising and organizational problems that have left his campaign badly hobbled,” Politico reports.
“Interviews with more than a dozen sources close to the Kentucky senator, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, painted a picture of an underfunded and understaffed campaign beaten down by low morale.”
Inside Donald Trump’s Inner Circle
McKay Coppins: “Trump’s key lieutenants tend to fit the same consumer profile that his discount luxury brand targets: They are men with middle- and working-class roots; lacking in elite credentials; mesmerized by made-for-TV displays of lavish wealth. They are impressed with brashness and bored by subtlety. They are amused by dirty jokes and averse to irony. They are likely to buy a Trump-branded necktie sometime this year, and if they feel like splurging they’ll get the matching cufflinks, too.”
5 White House Hopefuls Have Pennsylvania Ties
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that five of the presidential candidates have ties to the Pittsburgh area: Rick Santorum, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Martin O’Malley and Carly Fiorina.
“President James Buchanan is the only Pennsylvanian to hold the office, but with five hopefuls among 21 announced or likely candidates tracing roots to the state, that could change.”
Trump Aide Apologizes for Rape Comment
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has taken a “no apologies” approach to inflammatory remarks and controversies, but one of his personal aides had some regrets, the New York Times reports.
“Michael Cohen, who is special counsel to Mr. Trump, said that it was a moment of ‘shock and anger’ that led him to suggest that rape could not occur between spouses. Mr. Cohen… was defending his boss after a Daily Beast report about the businessman’s relationship with his first wife, Ivana. The report described a previously reported episode between the two in 1989 that Mrs. Trump once described as rape.”
Obama Says He Could Win Again If He Ran
President Obama asserted that “he could win a third term if allowed by the Constitution, but said he was looking forward to life after the presidency, when he will be able to take a walk and spend more time with his family,” the New York Times reports.
Said Obama: “I actually think I’m a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I could win.”
Will Trump Be Ratings Gold for Fox News?
“Donald Trump’s celebrity — and intrigue as to how the other Republican candidates will deal with his presence — could deliver a ratings boost for the first GOP debate, set for Fox News on Aug. 6,” The Hill reports.
“The audience will not be as big as the first season finale of Trump’s NBC series The Apprentice, when 28 million viewers tuned in, but the interest around him, together with the rebukes he has drawn from other Republican contenders, could at least spike viewership beyond what would otherwise be expected.”
The Latest on Wonk Wire
Here’s what’s trending on Wonk Wire today:
Who Will Make the Debate Cut?
Only the top 10 GOP candidates in an average of the last five national polls will get a podium on the debate state on August 6. First Read crunched the numbers as they look today:
- Trump: 18%
- Bush 14%
- Walker 10.6%
- Rubio 6.2%
- Paul 6%
- Cruz 6%
- Huckabee 5.6%
- Carson 5.2%
- Christie 3%
- Perry 2.2%
Not making the cut:
- Kasich 2%
- Santorum 1.6%
- Jindal 1.4%
- Fiorina 0.8%
- Graham 0.2%
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